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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 1
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Restoring Voting Rights for California’s Parolees Quinci LeGardye California Black Media On Aug. 17, the “Yes On Prop 17” campaign held its Official Proposition 17 Campaign Virtual Kick-Off on Facebook Live. The event featured testimony from previously incarcerated persons on why more than 50,000 parolees in California deserve the right to vote. Prop 17, which passed the state legislature as ACA 6 in June, is a measure on the November ballot. If Californians vote to approve it, Prop 17 would amend the state constitution, granting any eligible person who is not currently incarcerated the right to vote. If passed, California would join 17 states that allow parolees to vote. Initiate Justice Co-founder and Executive Director Taina Vargas-Edmond hosted the event that featured Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D - Sacramento), author of ACA 6, as well as Brandon Flynn, an activist and actor on the Netflix show “13 Reasons Why.” To start the event, Flynn and McCarty spoke about how the current global political movement calling for the dismantling of systemic racism has affected their understanding of – and advocacy around -- the proposition. “We’ve learned that this is just a remnant of some of these old Jim Crow values and racial oppression --when they want to hold back African American voters from being able to participate in the democratic process, and that’s wrong. That’s what we’re going to change,” the lawmaker said.
The program’s anchor event was a Q&A moderated by Edmond featuring “Yes On Prop 17” Fellows Betty McKay and John Windham. McKay and Windham, who are both on parole, spoke about the importance of voting for currently and previously incarcerated persons. McKay, who is a motivational speaker and organizer with Initiate Justice, talked about the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), arguing that she has done the time for his crime and should not be punished for it after her release. “The people who make the rules, the system, CDCR gives you a long list of things that if you do this, this, this, this and this, then you’re a productive citizen,” she said.
“Well, I’ve exceeded all that. So why aren’t I voting? I’m paying taxes. So why aren’t I voting?” Edmond also presented data from Initiate Justice’s 2019 “Democracy Needs Everyone” report, compiled from a survey of 1,085 incarcerated members of California state prisons as well as members on parole. According to the report, only 37 % of respondents said they voted before they were incarcerated, but 98 % said they would vote now if they could. Also, the top three political issues that the respondents listed as “very important” were jobs and the economy, education and healthcare. For Windham, who was incarcerated for 30 years and now mentors youth in his community, not having experienced voting was a deterrent in urging kids to vote. “The one thing I couldn’t really delve into with him is talking about voting. I tell them to vote, but I was shut down when they asked me, did I vote. It was the hardest thing for me to have to tell a child – that couldn’t vote because I’m on parole. I no longer want to have to tell no child that, because that takes away their hope. They see me as hope and the only hope they see was dashed.” When asked to respond to the arguments of Prop 17 opponents, McCarty said, “They’re saying that Betty and John still need to pay their debt to society. But when the parole board releases people from state prison, they’ve determined that you’ve served your time [and they] want to reintegrate you back into society. So, it makes no sense to say we want you to go back to your community, but we’re going to make you a second class citizen.”
Death of Chadwick Boseman Puts Focus on Colon Cancer and African Americans
Boseman was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer at 38. It later advanced to stage 4. Boseman was filming movies that included completing his own stunts while undergoing cancer treatment that included chemotherapy. The actor died on August 30. His death caught many who worked closely with him by surprise. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in both men and women in America. It is the second most common cause of death related to the disease. African Americans are disproportionately impacted with a 20 percent greater rate than whites and an even greater degree of mortality. Every year on average 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer with about 50,000 succumbing to the disease. For African Americans the death rates are higher. Diets high in animal fat and low in fiber are associated with the development of colon cancer. Cigarette smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and Every year on average 140,000 Americans are vitamins C and E deficiency are also contributing factors diagnosed with colon cancer with about 50,000 tied to colon cancer. succumbing to the disease. (Photo: iStockphoto / Dr. Wayne Frederick, who is the President of Howard NNPA) University and a medical doctor, where Boseman graduated in 2000, commented on Boseman’s trip to Howard By Lauren Victoria Burke University’s commencement in 2018 as the featured NNPA Newswire Contributor The death of actor Chadwick Boseman from colon graduation speaker. Frederick focused on the importance cancer at age 43 has brought new attention on the disease of knowing what one’s family history is and knowing what and how it disproportionately impacts African Americans. close relatives died of. He instructed that if you’re unclear how a close relative died you should investigate and find
out. “When I was in medical school, we got screening guidelines that it should start at 50. What we are seeing now is individuals getting colon cancer now is much younger. It is something for us to watch,” said Dr. Frederick on Roland Martin Unfiltered on August 31. Martin broadcast a two-hour tribute in honor of Boseman on his daily show. “African Americans are much less likely to get the generic screening,” he added. Dr. Frederick also mentioned that popular historian Dr. Ibram X. Kendi was diagnosed with colon cancer at 36. In January 2018, Kendi learned he had colon cancer after a colonoscopy. Though the cancer spread to his liver, further tests revealed that Kendi was cancer free after six months of chemotherapy and surgery. In January 2019, Kendi wrote “What I Learned From Cancer,” in The Atlantic. Kendi was trying to complete another epic work “How to Be an Antiracist,” as he was being treated for colon cancer. “In the hours of each day when I managed to submerge myself inside the writing zone, the metastatic cancer was an afterthought. The symptoms from the six months of chemotherapy, from January to June last year, were an afterthought: my marathons of tiredness, the bubbling nausea, my hands and feet tingling and darkening and drying and blistering, making them unusable at times,” Kendi wrote regarding this cancer battle.
Complete Your Census Form It is Taking Action -- Not Just Sharing Info Quinci LeGardye California Black Media California’s overall 2020 Census response rate is a few points higher than the national response rate. But advocates pushing for an accurate and complete count in the state say in many of the counties where African Americans and other minorities live, the response rates remain a few points lower than the state average. On Sept. 3, Los Angeles County held a briefing where county administrators from across the state stressed the importance of the census for communities of color and warned residents about the new deadline to complete their census form. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Director Steven Dillingham
announced Aug. 3 that the agency would end all counting efforts, including door-knocking and collecting responses online, over the phone and by mail, on Sept. 30, a month earlier than the previous deadline. As of Sept. 7, 67.6 % of Californians had selfresponded to the census either online, by phone or by mail. In census tracts in L.A. County with an African American population of 33.3 % or higher, an average of 59.6% of households have self-responded to the census. “The accelerated timeline to complete the census has the potential to harm low-income individuals and people of color. We know they are traditionally harder to reach and would benefit most from door-to-door outreach, which began just last month. The concern is that this
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administration is trying to undercount those who would most benefit from funding that is determined by census data,” said Judith Vasquez, Senior Advisor to L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, 1st District. The National Urban League, the League of Women Voters and multiple advocacy groups and local governments, including the City of Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit opposing the federal government’s decision to shorten the timeframe of the 2020 Census, arguing that ending the count early would result in an inaccurate tally. On Sept. 6, a federal judge ordered the Census Bureau to resume its full-scale population count through Sept. 17, when the lawsuit will be considered. The population count compiled by the census is used to allocate political representation and federal funding for numerous programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the national school lunch program, housing assistance and COVID-19 aid. If communities of color are counted inaccurately, they would lose millions of federal dollars and adequate political representation. “The more people that are counted means more resources for the programs and services that so many county residents rely on. Not filing out your census literally means that you are throwing away money for your neighborhood and for your community,” said Acting Los Angeles County Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport. “At a time when so many of our communities are feeling short-changed, and the need for federal resources more than ever, filing out the census form is more than just sharing information, it’s actually a way of taking action to claim the resources that we are entitled to, and that the county needs to improve lives through caring, effective and equitable services in every community,” said Davenport. Official census takers going door-to-door wear census ID badges with a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date, and they may also carry a bag or other equipment bearing the U.S. Census Bureau logo. They are also required to wear masks in compliance with Centers of Disease Control regulations. The census can be completed online, by phone or by mail. The online form and general information in 59 languages are available at my2020census.gov, and the phone number is 844-330-2020.
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Wednesday, September 9, 2020
KC College Night on Sept. 14
Sept. 4, 2020 — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Kern County College Night — which vannually attracts representatives from 100 colleges and universities and nearly 10,000 students and parents — will be held virtually this year on Monday, Sept. 14 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event has been co-presented by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and the Kern High School District for the past 20 years. Pre-recorded information sessions in English and Spanish on a variety of topics related to college readiness will be available to students and parents online through Canvas, with a live question and answer period following each session. To find a schedule and to participate in Kern County College Night, log onto https:// kerncountycollegenight2020.sched.com/. A link to access each session will be available on Sept. 14. In lieu of information on specific colleges and universities, the Kern College Night organizing committee is working with schools that would normally attend the event to acquire promotional video materials and virtual campus tours. Those resources will be uploaded to the event’s YouTube Channel and also promoted on Facebook at @KCCollegeNight as they are compiled.
Harlem Globetrotter College Coach Dies
DETROIT (AP) – David “Smokey’’ Gaines, the former Harlem Globetrotters and ABA player who coached at Detroit-Mercy and San Diego State, has died. Gaines died Saturday at 80 of cancer, his family said. He also contracted COVID-19, The Detroit News reported. A star guard in high school, the Detroit native was an All-State selection in 1959 and went on to star at LeMoyne-Owen College in Tennessee. He was a member of the Globetrotters from 1963-67 and also played briefly for the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association before turning to coaching. Gaines began coaching as a part-time assistant under Dick Vitale at Detroit-Mercy in 1973 and took over when Vitale stepped down after the 1976-77 season. “I’m so saddened to just receive a call from Darryl Gaines son of David Smokey Gaines that his Dad has just passed from cancer,’’ Vitale wrote on Twitter. “Smokey a Hall of Fame Harlem Globetrotter was a dear friend who played a vital role in my career while at the University of Detroit. Pls God May he RIP!’’ Gaines compiled a 47-10 record in two seasons at Detroit-Mercy before taking the job at San Diego State in 1979, becoming the first Black Division I head coach in the state. His 20 victories in the 1981-82 season marked the first time the program had reached that plateau since joining Division I for the 1970-71 season. In 1984-85, the Aztecs went 23-8, 11-5 in the Western Athletic Conference, won the conference tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament, and Gaines was named conference coach of the year. In eight seasons with the Aztecs, he compiled a record of 112-117. In 2006, Gaines was inducted into the Harlem Globetrotters’ “Legends’’ Ring, which honors those who have made a major contribution to the success and development of the organization.
South African Protesters Close Stores Over Offensive Ad JOHANNESBURG (AP) – Protests over an advertisement viewed as racially offensive forced the closure Monday of at least 60 outlets of a chain of drugstores. Leaders of the leftist opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters led the protests against the nationwide retailer Clicks, in which some of its supporters vandalized some stores. The advertisement that sparked the protests depicts two different types of hair. One shows a Black woman’s natural hair and one of a white woman’s hair. The Black woman’s hair is described in the ad as “dry, damaged hair,’’ while the white woman’s hair is described as “fine, flat hair.’’ It sparked outrage on social media, with people accusing the retailer of racism and insensitivity toward Black people’s identity. The Economic Freedom Fighters will not let the company return to normal operations until it takes specific measures to rid itself of racism, said the militant party’s deputy president Floyd Shibambu, who led the protest at the Clicks store in Johannesburg’s posh Sandton suburb. The company must disclose the names of all people involved in commissioning the advertisement and the name of the company which produced it and provide evidence that Clicks has taken action against them. “Unless they do that Clicks will not be open in all parts of South Africa,” said Shivambu to The Associated Press at the demonstration. “We are not going to agree to allow racist institutions to be allowed to continue existing as if nothing is wrong,’’ said Shivambu. The company has since issued an apology to the public and said it had suspended two junior employees who were involved in producing and publishing the advertisement. “I understand the emotions that are coming through from society, from Black people, from our staff ... When I looked at those images it took me two seconds to realize how insensitive they were. I don’t know why we posted them,’’ Clicks CEO Vikesh Ramsunder told radio station CapeTalk on Monday. “Even in the face of resistance by a small minority, we continue with efforts to build a united South Africa that we can all be proud of,” Mthembu said. “As we launch Heritage Month, we are reminded of the many cultures, traditions and languages that make us who we are. In the spirit of social cohesion, let us all cherish and respect one another regardless of color, background, gender and religion.’’