Bakersfield News Observer 12.28.22

2022 Movers and Shakers Year in Review

By Edward Henderson California Black Media

Marc Philpart

in Black led power building organizations and networks across California.

What did you find most challenging over the past year?

Carol McGruder

Fund to support the critical work happening throughout the state. You can donate to CBFF here.

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Emmett Till and His Mother Honored with Congressional Gold Medal

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – The House unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Emmett Till, the Chicago teenager murdered by white supremacists in the 1950s, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley.

The bill, which passed the Senate in January, is meant to honor Till and his mother – who had insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing – with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. The medal will be given to the National Museum of African American History where it will be displayed near the casket Till was buried in.

Till was abducted, tortured and killed in 1955 after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman at a grocery store in rural Mississippi, a violation of the South’s racist societal codes at the time. In return, he was rousted from bed and abducted from a great-uncle’s home in the predawn hours four days later. The killing galvanized the civil rights movement after Till’s mother insisted on an open casket and Jet magazine published photos of his brutalized body.

The Senate bill was introduced by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Richard Burr, R-N.C.. The House version of the legislation is sponsored by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., who also sponsored a bill to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of Mamie TillMobley. She died in 2003.

Marc

Philpart was named executive director of the California Black Freedom Fund in April 2022.

On December 13th, the fund announced $1 million in general operating support to be distributed to five Black power-building organizations in Los Angeles. This is the fund’s fifth round of grants to date, with a total of approximately $26 million in investments that are building Black power across the state. Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), Dignity & Power Now, Students Deserve, The Hub at LA Black Worker Center, and Youth Justice Coalition were recipients of the funding to supercharge their organizing efforts in 2023 and beyond.

California Black Media asked Philpart to reflect on the past year and share his plans for 2023.

With the work you do advocating for African Americans in California, what was your biggest accomplishment in 2022? The California Black Freedom Fund is a five-year, $100 million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.

The first state-based fund of its kind, the California Black Freedom Fund prioritizes investments in the courageous and visionary grassroots advocates and community leaders who are transforming our cities, our state -- and our world.

In 2022, across three rounds of grants, the California Black Freedom Fund invested approximately $11.8M

Part of our work is to organize and educate the philanthropic sector on the giving gap and needs facing Black power building organizations in California.

Philanthropy has a shared opportunity and responsibility to marshal our resources in order to tackle systemic racism and anti-Blackness in communities across California.

We believe that private and corporate philanthropy has a huge opportunity to prioritize building the power and capacity of Black-led organizations as a strategic imperative.

I look forward to working with philanthropic leaders throughout California in the next year and beyond on this goal.

What are you most looking forward to in 2023? We are excited to develop programs that can support the advocacy, research, and programming needs of Black power building organizations throughout California. By creating and accelerating a new statewide ecosystem of Black-led organizations confronting racism and anti-Blackness, this fund aims to affect the culture, policy and systems changes necessary to realize equity and justice in California.

What’s the biggest challenge Black Californians will face next year?

Our communities must prepare for a mass civic engagement effort that will dramatically expand the Black electorate in the 2024 election. Black power building organizations will need to advocate for new laws, educate and register voters, and innovate new approaches to voter turnout.

CBM: What’s your wish for this holiday season?

My one wish is that people keep ever present the threat that Black communities face with so much injustice in the world and give to Black led power building organizations in their communities or to the California Black Freedom

Rick Callender is the President of the California Hawaii State Conference NAACP.

He helps oversee 74 branches and youth units of the association which are mobilized across the states to help ensure racial justice and equality.

California Black Media asked Mr. Callender to reflect on the past year and share his plans for 2023.

With the work you do advocating for African Americans in California, what was your biggest accomplishment in 2022?

First was bringing back our State Convention which was completely sold out, second was ensuring that all African American voters and members received a slate mailer on how the CA/HI NAACP suggested they vote on State-wide Propositions.

The slate mailer also identified our lifetime members who were running for office. All but one of the lifetime members were successful in their elections.

What did you find most challenging over the past year?

When fighting for justice, it’s important to remember that it’s both a marathon and a sprint at the same time.

In the face of adversity, it can be challenging to continue pushing forward with the same endurance held in the beginning of the marathon, but once you see your efforts start to make even the smallest difference–that has been what’s catapulted my own power forward.

At the same time, we have to often sprint to obtain justice by speaking truth to power.

What are you most looking forward to in 2023?

In 2023 I want to continue fighting for justice and

“The courage and activism demonstrated by Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, in displaying to the world the brutality endured by her son helped awaken the nation’s conscience, forcing America to reckon with its failure to address racism and the glaring injustices that stem from such hatred,” Booker said in a statement after the bill passed the Senate.

Congress has been handing out the medals since 1776, with previous recipients including Rosa Parks, the Little Rock Nine and Jackie Robinson. The designation comes months after President Joe Biden signed the first anti-lynching legislation, named after Till, into law.

Until March of this year, Congress had failed to pass such legislation nearly 200 times, beginning with a bill introduced in 1900 by North Carolina Rep. George Henry White, the only Black member of Congress at the time.

Former Broncos Running Back Ronnie Hillman Dies at 31

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) – Running back Ronnie Hillman, who was part of the Denver Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50, has died, his family said in a statement. He was 31.

Hillman’s family posted on his Instagram account Wednesday that he was diagnosed in August with a rare form of kidney cancer called renal medullary carcinoma and was under hospice care. The family wrote hours later that he died surrounded by family and close friends.

The Broncos expressed their condolences on social media Thursday morning.

Special to NNPA Newswire

But the workload, travel requirements and responsibilities made Keturah Lee’s IT program management position as stressful as any full-time job.

The Northeast Washington resident was working for a federal agency less than 30 hours a week when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

“But I was doing a full-time person’s job,” she said.

“It was extremely stressful. I was trying to carry all the responsibility and not drop the ball. It was a never-ending cycle. I felt I always had to be on.”

A few months into the pandemic, Lee decided to become one of the nearly 50 million Americans who quit or changed jobs during what has been termed the “Great Resignation” of 2021-22.

While some people didn’t have a choice due to loss of employment, many made a move in search of better opportunities.

According to a recent LinkedIn survey, work-life balance was the biggest concern, topping compensation,

and benefits.

Lee decided to find a job with less pressure and more flexibility, allowing more time for her volunteer ministry as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

As the pandemic raged, she studied to be an American Sign Language interpreter.

She earned a certificate, quit the IT job, started working part-time as a freelance interpreter and found that her prayers were answered.

“I had made it a matter of prayer,” she said. “I didn’t want to be rash. I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision.”

Even without the pandemic as a catalyst for taking a hard look at priorities and life goals, the Witnesses’ emphasis on service and family has led many in that Christian faith to make similar employment choices over the decades and given them a wealth of experience in learning to find success living on less.

“Living a balanced, simple life protects us, because it gives us more time and energy for spiritual things,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“Spirituality has a direct impact on a person’s emotional well-being, which is why Jesus said that those conscious of their spiritual need are happy. Living by that principle takes constant effort as we each strive to maintain life balance.”

Video programs with practical suggestions based on Scriptural principles on jw.org, the Witnesses’ official website, helped Lee appreciate the value of a simple lifestyle and helping others through her ministry.

“Having less is also good for less stress,” she said.

“I’m living within my means. Not consuming so much and having and buying just what I need has helped me live a life that’s less stressful.”

Gail Martin likewise has no regrets about reassessing her priorities more than two decades ago.

She left a high-powered but all-consuming job as a

systems analyst to put faith and family first.

can prioritize studying the Bible, my religious meetings and my volunteer ministry,” said Martin of Riverside, California.

The key to long-term success at living on less, she said, is regular life reassessment.

“What might work now may eventually not work,” she said. “Sometimes, you have to make adjustments. It’s a continuous process.

She often goes back to the free resources on jw.org, searching for Scriptural counsel on how to “handle your finances, choosing a career, how to be happy and whatever it might be that you need to look at your priorities and your values,” she said.

Martin is currently reevaluating her life to prepare for retirement. She doesn’t yet know what adjustments she will make to simplify her life further, but she’s holding on to what makes her happy.

“I feel like if you put priorities first like family and God, that’s a lot more fulfilling than working yourself to death,” she said.three months a year in Illinois with my family and help my brother care for my mom.” The key to long-term success at living on less, she said, is regular life reassessment. “What might work now may eventually not work,” she said. “Sometimes, you have to make adjustments. It’s a continuous process. She often goes back to the free resources on jw.org, searching for Scriptural counsel on how to “handle your finances, choosing a career, how to be happy and whatever it might be that you need to look at your priorities and your values,” she said.

Martin is currently reevaluating her life to prepare for retirement. She doesn’t yet know what adjustments she will make to simplify her life further, but she’s holding on to what makes her happy. “I feel like if you put priorities first like family and God, that’s a lot more fulfilling than working yourself to death,” she said.

After a standout career at San Diego State, Hillman was picked by the Broncos in the third round of the 2012 draft. He ran for 1,976 yards and 12 touchdowns over his 56-game career, which included stints with the Minnesota Vikings and the Chargers while they were in San Diego.

Hillman led the Broncos in rushing with 863 yards during the 2015 regular season. It was a season that culminated with the Broncos beating Cam Newton and Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Hillman had five carries for no yards in the game.

In their statement, the Broncos described Hillman as “soft-spoken with a warm smile and quiet intensity.” They added he “grew into a dynamic player and wellrespected teammate.”

Hillman rushed for 3,243 yards and 36 TDs in two seasons at San Diego State.

“Our deepest condolences go out to Ronnie’s family. Although I only got to coach him one season, I’ll remember him as a great teammate and hard worker,” San Diego State coach Brady Hoke said in a statement. “Ronnie always came to practice with a smile on this face and his passion for the game was contagious. He’ll always be an Aztec for life.”

Added athletic director John David Wicker: “Ronnie helped resurrect San Diego State football in his two seasons in 2010 and 2011 and has recently been around the program offering wisdom and insight.”

Hillman’s family explained in its initial post that his form of cancer affects “young African Americans with sickle cell trait. Unfortunately treatment has not been successful.”

It was supposed to be a part-time job.

“I

“I’m also able to spend three months a year in Illinois with my family and help my brother care for my mom.”

The five-year $100 million fund is an initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.

Rick Callender

Marc Philpart

How Some are Finding Real Success While Living on Less

Continued on page A7

White House Responds to Migrant Buses Sent to VP Harris’ D.C. Home

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

The White House has condemned the latest tactic employed by Republican governors, including Texas’ Greg Abbott, and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who have bused migrants across the country to push President Joe Biden toward stricter border policies.

The latest incident occurred on Christmas Eve amid sub-freezing temperatures.

Three buses carrying 139 migrants from Texas arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence at the Naval Observatory.

Temperatures in the District of Columbia reached as low as single digits, with wind chill factors driving the real feel to minus zero.

Biden has called the moves “un-American” and “reckless.”

“This was a cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt,” said White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan.

“As we have repeatedly said, we are willing to work with anyone – Republican or Democrat alike – on real solutions, like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures President Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office, but these political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger,” Hasan asserted.

Amy Fischer, a core organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, told ABC News that she was outside the Naval Observatory on Saturday night as

buses began arriving after about 7:45 p.m.

Fischer said the migrants included “a bunch of families,” maybe around 30, as well as adults in groups like spouses and cousins and people traveling alone.

Senate Committee Finds

Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Nicaragua.

She added that Texas Gov. Abbott’s administration sent the migrants.

In August, the Texas Division of Emergency Management said that the state had spent more than $12 million busing migrants to Washington and New York crossed from Mexico.

A state government spreadsheet that CNN obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that, as of August 9, Texas had paid $12,707,720.92 to Wynne Transportation, the charter service that is taking migrants to the two cities.

Additionally, the 43 buses that departed Arizona for the District of Columbia between May and August, carrying over 1,500 migrants, have cost that state more than $3 million.

Reportedly, the cost of each bus was approximately $83,000, bringing the total to date to around $3.5 million, according to the governor’s office, which said about two to three buses depart Arizona per week, based on demand.

In the two days since Fischer told ABC News, her group had helped people make further travel plans to their final destinations while a “handful of folks” who are planning to stay in D.C. have been relocated to a hotel as they prepare to put down roots.

She said the groups left on the buses from Texas, knowing they were headed to Washington.

“I think people are always a little bit confused. People are always a little bit scared,” Fischer said.

Widespread Employee on Inmate Sex Abuse in Federal Prisons

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

In August 2016, a grand jury indicted Carolyn Richardson for her role in a conspiracy to procure and distribute oxycodone.

A year later, in the early stages of a 12-year federal prison sentence at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York, Richardson, who said she was deeply remorseful and understood an oxycodone addiction fueled her crime, was hospitalized.

Experiencing complications from a procedure that caused her eyesight to deteriorate, Richardson required extensive eye treatment and periodic visits to hospitals

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outside of the prison.

A correction officer named Colin Akparanta routinely escorted Richardson to hospital visits and used that time to prey upon her.

“He made himself out to be someone I could trust,” Richardson testified before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations this month.

She said the officer spoke to her about faith and spirituality and brought her food and medicine.

“I believed that here was one person who cared about me when no one else did. I was wrong,” Richardson said.

After several months, in or around May 2018, Akparanta began to demand sexual favors in exchange for food and medicine.

He switched from working the day to the night shift and entered Richardson’s prison cell at night.

“I did not have a cellmate, and he told me that my cell was in a perfect area because the security camera could not see him coming or going,” she recalled.

“He was the only officer working the night shift in my unit, which consisted of approximately 40 female prisoners. He used a flashlight to signal me that he was coming to my cell.”

When Briane Moore, a young single mother, received a 10-year sentence for a drug offense, she said she knew prison would be harsh.

Her first stop was the federal prison Aliceville in Alabama, then FCI Alderson in West Virginia – hundreds of miles from her young daughter in Illinois.

“I accepted that I would be punished for my crime. It was not easy doing time, but I was sentenced and put in prison for my choices,” Moore remarked.

“I was not sentenced to being raped and abused while in prison. This should not have happened to me. Speaking about this is not easy, but I am not powerless anymore.

“The day I started to heal was the day that I could talk about what happened to me without being afraid.”

Moore said a captain at Alderson, who had raped other inmates, began targeting her.

“He was a captain with total control over me. Once, a building officer ordered me to go to the captain’s office. There was a secretary’s office within the captain’s office. But, when I arrived, there was no secretary,” Moore recalled.

“The captain closed the door and raped me. On another occasion, the captain himself ordered that I come to his office. I had no choice but to obey.

“We always had to follow orders in prison. But, most importantly, I knew the captain could interfere with my transfer and prevent me from being closer to my family –closer to my daughter.”

She continued:

“The captain also knew that I was aware that I was powerless and was aware that he could interfere with my transfer to be closer to my family and my daughter. He then explicitly reminded me of his control.

“In the office, he told me that he knew I wanted a transfer to another prison. He said, ‘The paperwork goes through me.’ He threatened that he would interfere with my transfer if I resisted. Other times, he sexually assaulted me in isolated areas of the prison. It is hard to explain how this felt fully.

“The captain, who already had complete control over my day-to-day life, was now enforcing that control over my body and using my desire to see my child to threaten me to stay silent. Finally, the captain made it clear that if I wanted a transfer, I had to accept the abuse.”

In 2019, Captain Jerrod Grimes received a 10-year sentence for unlawfully engaging in sexual activity with female inmates at Alderson.

A bipartisan Senate investigation has revealed how the Federal Bureau of Prisons had failed to address the problem of sexual abuse adequately.

In a new report issued by Senate investigators, dozens of witnesses, including survivors of sexual abuse, and former and current prison officials, laid out how rampant abuse is in federal lockups.

Wardens, guards, chaplains, and other prison workers have all been accused, charged, or convicted of sexually abusing prisoners.

Federal law prohibits sex between prison employees and prisoners, even if it’s consensual.

Officials found that employees had abused female prisoners in at least 19 of the 29 federal facilities over the past decade.

In June 2021, the Department of Justice revealed that as of 2018, inmates reported 27,826 allegations of sexual victimization, or a 15% increase from 2015. Of the 27,826 allegations, 55% allegedly occurred at the hands of prison staff.

Managers in at least four prisons failed to apply federal law intended to detect and reduce sexual assault.

Further, officials said hundreds of abuse charges remain among a backlog of 8,000 internal affairs misconducts that haven’t been investigated.

More than 5,400 allegations of sexual abuse made by female and male inmates against prison employees have been recorded over the past ten years.

MCC in New York, the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Florida, Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, and Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, in California, were identified as sites where employees could target female inmates without fear of discipline.

A jury found Ray Garcia, the former warden at Dublin, guilty of seven charges of sexual abuse this month after prosecutors charged him with assaulting female inmates and forcing them to pose for nude photographs.

or showering by the staff of the opposite gender.”

Smith said women also have complained of intrusive pat searches, being importuned for sex, and having to trade sex for food, work assignments, visits with family, and completing paperwork for their probation, parole, or release from custody.

“There are common elements of vulnerability in each of these women prisoner’s victimization. First, these women, as you know, often bring multiple well-known vulnerabilities into the correctional setting – past histories of childhood and adult physical and sexual abuse; poverty; involvement with powerful systemic actors like courts, child protection, housing, and immigration authorities that control their existence and their families’ existence; fear and deprivation that is part of the custodial experience,” Smith asserted.

“I could name many more elements, as could you.

At least 17 current or former employees at Dublin were under investigation for sexual abuse, including the prison’s former pastor.

“Having experienced the jarring sexual abuse, I came to learn that officer-on-inmate sexual abuse is a pervasive issue throughout the BOP system, though rarely acknowledged in public,” Richardson stated.

“I have learned that there are challenges in the criminal prosecution of the abusers, especially because officers often do not use overt threats or physical force to obtain sex with inmates, but rather a psychological manipulation and the inherent power dynamic as in my case.”

Richardson continued:

“Even though BOP has a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual abuse, it is extremely difficult for inmates to step up and report the abuse. It feels that there is no real protection from the guards retaliating against you under a pretext or harassing you with their authority.

“Even when the abuse is reported, inmates are kept in the dark about the progress of the investigation, and the repeated questioning is jarring – and emotionally scarring to relive the trauma.”

Brenda V. Smith, a law professor at the American University’s Washington College of Law, said women in every penal system in the United States, including the federal system, have experienced unequal services and opportunities and physical and sexual abuse.

Smith directs the Community Economic and Equity Development Law Clinic and serves as Director of the Project on Addressing Prison Rape.

“District of Columbia women prisoners were forced to trade sex in exchange for food, work opportunities, visitation, preparation of reports and recommendations to the court detailing their progress,” Smith told the Senate committee.

“Women also challenged their lack of privacy, including cross-gender searches and viewing by male officers often while they were unclothed.

“Women complained of being viewed while disrobing

These factors create the levers of pressure that correctional staff can employ to ensure compliance with both legitimate and illegitimate requests.”

She continued:

“Given this inequality of power, women bargain, capitulate, and comply even as they fear for their lives, their freedom, and often for their families.

“Combine these levers with a toxic culture, the forced compliance that is a part of the custodial environment, and powerful system actors who appear to be all-powerful and above rules, regulations, and indeed the law, women make a choice to survive even if survival means rape.”

Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who chaired the subcommittee, noted that the hearing counted as part of a two-year bipartisan effort to investigate conditions of incarceration and detention in the United States.

“From corruption at the U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta in Georgia to the Department of Justice’s failure to count almost 1,000 deaths in custody across the country, to abusive and unnecessary gynecological procedures performed on women in Department of Homeland Security custody,” Ossoff stated.

“It is important to acknowledge that law enforcement professionals working in our prisons have among the hardest jobs in our country, and I believe the vast majority of BOP employees share our goals of ending sexual abuse once and for all in Federal prisons,” Ossoff said.

“I also want to state for the record the subcommittee investigated sexual abuse of women in federal prison because of some of their unique considerations: women are more likely than male prisoners to have suffered from trauma and sexual abuse prior to incarceration, and particularly susceptible to subsequent abuse in a custodial setting. However, the subcommittee fully acknowledges that sexual abuse is not limited to female prisoners.”

DOJ officials said they are in the process of overhauling policies that could allow for the compassionate release of inmate victims of prison employee sex abuse.

None of them wore cold weather gear, Fischer told the news outlet, though many had blankets to wrap up.

Fischer said that the “vast majority” were asylumseekers, and all spoke Spanish, with people from Cuba,

A bipartisan Senate investigation has revealed how the Federal Bureau of Prisons had failed to address the problem of sexual abuse adequately.

LA Jury Convicts Tory Lanez of Shooting Megan Thee Stallion

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) – In a courtroom that turned chaotic after a trial that seethed with tension, a Los Angeles jury on Friday found rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felonies in the 2020 shooting of hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion. The attack left her wounded with bullet fragments in her feet and Lanez’ conviction could send him to prison for more than 20 years.

Lanez, who was put in handcuffs and led to jail while wearing a powder pink coat with matching pants, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read.

But moments later, after the jury was escorted out, his father, Sonstar Peterson, leapt up and shouted “This wicked system stands judged before God almighty!” as deputies closed in on him.

Peterson then pointed to the two prosecutors and yelled “You two are evil, wicked people. You know exactly what you did.”

With considerable effort, deputies wrestled him from the courtroom, where he shouted in the hallway.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated since Thursday before convicting the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

Jurors also agreed that there were aggravating factors in the attack, meaning Lanez could face up to 22 years in prison and deportation when is is sentenced on Jan 25.

Three young children, including Lanez’ son, sat in the front row of the courtroom while the verdict was read. A young girl cried and was hugged by Lanez’s stepmother, who was also tearful before she began shouting along with her husband.

Others in the audience shouted agreement, and one woman shouted “we love you Tory” as he was led away.

Supporters of Megan and Lanez gathered outside the courthouse for most of the eight-day trial and crowded the courtroom and the hallway. The scene was tense at times, but remained mostly peaceful until the verdict was read.

She

her feet.

After the verdict, her lawyer, Alex Spiro said “the jury got it right” and said he was “thankful there is justice for Meg.”

Lanez’ lawyer George Mgdesyan said they were “shocked by the verdict.”

“There was not sufficient evidence to convict Mr. Peterson,” Mgdesyan said in a statement. “We believe this

case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We will be exploring all options including an appeal.”

The shooting set off a storm of cultural issues and arguments that peaked during the trial, including the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, the protection of Black women, gender politics in hip-hop, and online toxicity.

In closing arguments, prosecutors emphasized the courage it took for Megan come forward and the vitriol the 27-year-old faced for it. They said she had no incentive to tell anything but the truth.

After the verdict, District Attorney George Gascon praised her.

“You showed incredible courage and vulnerability with your testimony despite repeated and grotesque attacks that you did not deserve,” Gascon said in a statement. “You faced unjust and despicable scrutiny that no woman should ever face.”

Lanez’ lawyer alleged in his closing argument that the shots were actually fired by Megan’s then-best friend Kelsey Harris in a jealous fight over Lanez, who tried to stop the shooting. The attorney, George Mgdesyan, argued Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by pinning the shooting on Lanez.

“Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case from the beginning,” Mgdesyan said. “She lied under oath here.”

Harris denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun. Her attorney, in an email, declined to comment on her involvement.

Lanez began releasing mixtapes in 2009 and saw a steady rise in popularity, moving on to major-label albums. His last two reached the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.

Megan Thee Stallion was already a major rising star at the time of the shooting, and her prominence has surged since.

She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and had No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with her own song “Savage,” featuring Beyonce, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

Clumsy Whitney Houston Biopic Mars Its Star’s Skill

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer

Whitney Houston’s voice was one of a kind and the creative team behind a new big-budget biopic of the singer had no choice but to agree.

Naomi Ackie, who plays Houston in “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” turns in a fierce performance but is asked to lip-sync throughout to Houston biggest hits. The effect is, at best, an expensive karaoke session.

The dilemma that Houston’s own prodigious gift put everyone in is understandable: The chances of finding someone who resembles the singer is hard enough; finding someone who also has the awe-inducing, fluttery vocal ability is a fool’s errand.

But the solution would have been choosing between focusing on Houston’s story or making a documentary that features her singing. It’s unfair to ask Ackie to act her heart out and also have her execute large parts of Houston’s iconic live performances in mimic mode. It’s an uncanny canyon.

The movie is written by Anthony McCarten, who told Freddie Mercury’s story in “Bohemian Rhapsody” and is

having quite a moment with two shows on Broadway _ “The Collaboration” about artists Andy Warhol and JeanMichel Basquiat and “A Beautiful Noise,” a musical about Neil Diamond. McCarten clearly has impressed producers with an ability to tell the stories of modern icons but with Houston the hook is, well, business pressure.

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is more like a hyped-up “Behind the Music” episode set to Houston’s greatest hits album. It leans on all the cliches: overbearing parents, bad-boy boyfriends and giddy, champagnepopping montages on the way up and sullen montages on the way down as she’s hunted by paparazzi.

Houston is portrayed as a woman who seizes her destiny only late in her cut-short life after struggling with the burden of being the family breadwinner for most of it.

“Everyone is using me as an ATM!” she screams at one point.

Stanley Tucci plays a subdued and concerned Clive Davis _ the record executive helped produce the film and comes off like a prince _ and Nafessa Williams is superb as Houston’s best friend, manager and lover.

McCarten frames the climax of Houston’s life at the

1994 American Music Awards, where she won eight awards and performed a medley of songs. It is where director Kasi Lemmons’ camera starts and ends, part of an excruciating final section goodbye to the icon that lasts for what feels like an hour and ends with a heavy-handed, written statement that Houston was the “greatest voice of her generation.”

Credit to the Houston estate for not sanitizing Houston’s life, showing her early love affair with a woman, her pushy, demanding parents, the backlash from some in the Black community and not shying away from the descent into drugs that would kill her in 2012 at age 48.

“To sing with the gods, you sometimes need a ladder,” Houston rationalizes in the movie.

Some highlights of the film include Houston and Davis picking hit songs in his office and the recreations of the filming of the video “How Will I Know” and Houston’s triumphant national anthem performance at Super Bowl XXV. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones has joyously remade key looks, from Houston’s hair bow and arm warmers to the stunning wedding dress with beaded and sequined cloche hat.

Less well-realized is the section exploring her filming

Ackie’s performance is something to be cheered, reaching for the the kind of authenticity that Andra Day channeled when she also tackled a doomed musical icon in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”

But so much clumsiness, scenes featuring unnaturally heightened drama with little insight and the compromised authenticity of the performances drag “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” down _ ultimately, it’s not right but it’s just OK.

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” a Sony Pictures release exclusively in theaters Dec. 23, is rated PG-13 for “strong drug content, some strong language, suggestive references and smoking.” Running time: 146 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified during the trial that Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding in the Hollywood Hills in the summer of 2020. She said the two had gotten into a dispute that became especially heated when she started insulting his music.

needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from

of “The Bodyguard” _ the filmmakers try to pass off an old clip of Kevin Costner on the set, a trick they try again later with Oprah _ and the portrayal of husband Bobby Brown is not nuanced, leaving him the clear villain of the piece. Lemmons (“Harriet”) also uses a recurring image of a faucet dripping, a graceless way of foreshadowing her death.

Features

Gov. Newsom’s Broadband Initiative

By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media

In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom held a press conference in San Diego County to announce that the construction of the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative had commenced.

A collaboration between California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Department of Technology, the initiative’s purpose is to construct a 10,000-mile-long broadband network to provide open internet access statewide by the end of 2026.

The Middle-Mile project was authorized by Senate Bill (SB) 156, announced by Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) in July of last year.

“California is now one step closer to making the digital divide a thing of the past,” said Newsom. “This is about ensuring that all Californians, no matter the zip code they call home, can be part of the Golden State’s thriving and diverse economy.”

Once the network has been constructed, the state will provide funding for “last mile” efforts which refers to infrastructure that connects the network to “end-use” entities such as homes and businesses.

The Middle-Mile Initiative boasts a $6.5 billion budget to extend and improve internet access for “unserved and underserved communities” such as Indigenous American reservations, some low-income neighborhoods, and rural areas.

“So, I really want to underscore that our stance on digital equity is that it’s a 21st century civil right,” Sunne Wright McPeak, President and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), told California Black Media (CBM).

CETF is a non-profit committed to closing the digital divide. It is the only non-state agency serving on the California Broadband Council which identifies and deploys resources for internet access.

“We live in this whole space around the most digitally disadvantaged, which are often the most economically disadvantaged,” said McPeak. “That persistent concentrated

poverty is all rooted in systemic racism.”

Communities of color have slightly less broadband access than White communities. While 17% of Black households are without access to internet, 13% of White households lack access, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey (ACS).

“Beginning construction on the Middle-Mile network is a significant step toward broadband equity and providing all Californians the opportunity to access critical information,” Secretary of the California Transportation Agency Toks Omishakin said in a press release.

“High-speed internet is much more than a connection – it’s a lifeline that families need to work, learn, and access critical services,” Omishakin continued.

McPeak asserts that high poverty urban areas are hard to reach and suggests that broadband infrastructure often neglects these neighborhoods.

Another piece of the puzzle is the private sector, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond told CBM.

“And because of the way internet service providers and other companies have tried to capitalize on the internet, that means that the U.S. has communities that have been without access to the internet for a long time, even though there’s so much resourcing available,” Thurmond said.

McPeak echoed the assessment and suggested how state officials can convince private companies to aid in providing open access for Californians by providing incentives to do so.

“One thing the state could do to get much more cooperation is what I call ‘step up or step aside,’” said McPeak. “And that would be powerful if there was that kind of bold leadership that’s on the deployment side.”

Thurmond called these companies to action to bolster state efforts.

“I think that the state is doing everything that it can, and our office is certainly taking the lead as it relates to our students, but we need everyone to help,” Thurmond said. “And that means internet companies have to find ways to help build out pieces of the infrastructure that will reach the homes of Californians.”

is Bringing Internet Access Statewide to the Digitally Disadvantaged Movers and Shakers Year in Review

equity, building our membership, and prepare for the 2024 elections. We cannot

Further, one of our main priorities this past year has been justice on the field for young student athletes experiencing racism.

What’s the biggest challenge Black Californians will face next year?

We will continuously face being able to access equal justice under the law in all respects.

Unfortunately, the fight clearly continues. The CA/HI NAACP will continue to lead the resistance for equity and equality.

What’s your wish for this holiday season?

For some relaxing time off so I can come back reenergized, focused, and ready to continue to fight!

Carol McGruder

Carol McGruder is co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC).

Formed in 2008, McGruder says the mission of the AATCLC is to inform and influence the direction of tobacco control as it affects the lives of African American and African Immigrant communities.

The AATCLC works with health jurisdictions, elected officials, community-based organizations, tobacco researchers, activists, faith-based communities, and the media and it plays a key role in elevating the once obscure issue of regulating the sale of menthol and flavored tobacco products to one of national concern and action.

California Black Media asked McGruder to reflect on the past year and share her plans for 2023.

With the work you do advocating for African Americans in California, what was your biggest accomplishment in 2022?

It would be an understatement to say that 2022 has been a banner year for tobacco control and African Americans. Of course, the overwhelming vote in support of passing Proposition 31 is at the top of the list.

Californians went to the polls on November 8th and soundly rejected the tobacco industry’s attempt to undermine the nonpartisan passage of Senate Bill 793. Passed in 2020, Senate Bill 793 made California the second state after Massachusetts to pass legislation to take menthol and all flavored tobacco products off the market. The tobacco industry’s cynical use of California’s proposition system was resoundingly defeated.

The bigger benefit of Senate Bill 793 is when Californians move to enact legislation that protects us, we advance the health and safety of Black children and communities across the country.

Another accomplishment was our lawsuit against the FDA to compel them to do what they were mandated to do in 2008, which was to take menthol tobacco products off the national market. Because of our lawsuit, the FDA has finally initiated steps to remove these products. They are in the second stage of the rule-making process, and we look forward to having a national sales ban in place in the next few years. In the meantime, we keep plugging away at local and state levels.

What did you find most challenging over the past year?

My biggest challenge was juggling all of the balls of 2022. We worked on local, state, and national fronts and fought hard to get here and make it count. I am proud to see that we did.

What are you most looking forward to in 2023?

I am feeling so grateful and looking forward to many things in 2023. In our mission to save the 45,000 Black souls who die each year from tobacco-induced diseases, we will continue to support cities and states across the nation as they adopt and implement policies to stop this cycle of death through nicotine addiction. We will continue to be a resource for our community as we remind Californians that the responsibility of the tobacco ban is placed on

retailers, not individuals.

We are also looking forward to working with Los Angeles Madam Mayor Karen Bass who has supported us and worked with us throughout her political career. Her hard-fought win to become mayor of Los Angeles couldn’t have come at a better time for our movement and state. We know that she “gets it”, and profoundly understands the inter-relatedness of these issues. As we move forward to implement the removal of menthol and flavored tobacco products in our Black communities, Los Angeles will play a pivotal role.

What’s the biggest challenge Black Californians will face next year?

I am fresh back from Cuba where I had the opportunity

to study their public health system. I was inspired by how they have done so much with so little. They have eradicated illiteracy. And it is safer for a Black baby to be born in Cuba, than in the United States. We face so many challenges, but our biggest challenge is us. Rededicating ourselves to our families and communities. Putting the health, education, and well-being of our families and communities first. Let’s look forward to 2023 with power and optimism. Bring IT! What’s your wish for this holiday season?

I wish that we all get some rest and come back in 2023 ready to move our agenda forward. While we face many challenges, we also have so many opportunities to begin ... again.

Carol McGruder

Marc Philpart

Nations Largest Green Hydrogen Pipeline Advances California Efforts to Reach “Net-Zero Goals”

By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Dec. 16 marked a milestone for the state’s 100% clean energy goals when it approved Southern California Gas Co.’s (SoCalGas) request to track costs for the first phase of the Angeles Link project.

Angeles Link is a green hydrogen pipeline system that offers an energy alternative to the Los Angeles region.

SoCalGas proposed the project last February.

Neil Navin, vice president of Clean Energy Innovations for SoCalGas, summarized how the project could help with the state’s goals.

“We were really excited to hear that the project is significant in that it aligns with the state,” said Navin. “We believe that the project could be the nation’s largest green hydrogen pipeline system. Once it’s built, delivering significant benefits to decarbonize the hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy.”

Green hydrogen involves converting hydrogen gas into electricity or fuel to provide renewable energy as an alternative to finite fossil fuels.

“Green hydrogen looks promising as a form of longduration energy storage that could enhance electric system reliability and as a fuel that can help California reach its net zero-carbon goals for industrial end uses that currently have no practical alternatives to the use of natural gas,” said Jan Smutny Jones of Independent Energy Producers. “Establishing the memorandum account is a critical first step toward determining whether green hydrogen can supplement or replace natural gas and reduce carbon emissions from end users that are hard to electrify.”

The Angeles Link project aims to enable up to four natural gas power plants to run on hydrogen, remove over 3 million cars’ worth of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide from the air, bolster the economy and create union jobs, according to the SoCal Gas website.

“Green hydrogen is an important pathway to reach our goal of zero-emissions cargo operations at the Port,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “The Port and our terminal partners have five active hydrogen demonstration projects and, ultimately, Angeles Link can play a key role in providing green hydrogen at the scale needed to achieve our zero-emissions and decarbonization goals by 2030.”

The plan for the project is structured into three phases.

Phase one would look at early engineering scoping

and would establish a public engagement process. It will take about 12 to 18 months, according to Navin.

Phase two will “expand on the engineering and look at narrowing down the possible locations for the infrastructure,” Navin said.

Phase three will involve more detailed engineering planning before applying for a Certificate for Public Convenience and Necessity. This certificate will allow for

the construction of the infrastructure.

Describing the state’s assistance on this project, Navin said, “Certainly, the governor’s budget has dollars specifically directed towards hydrogen technology. We also see in the California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board a real emphasis on the potential for green and clean hydrogen to have a significant impact. So, we see the state moving toward – and really emphasizing – the need to develop hydrogen infrastructure for the hard-to-electrify sectors of our economy.”

Navin claimed that Angeles Link will have a positive effect on the state’s economy.

“And we really believe that Angeles Link could be an economic boom,” said Navin. “That extends California’s position as a leader in clean energy well into the future, that takes advantage of the thousands of skilled workers that we

have in our company, and the more than 32,000 workers that already exist in the gas distribution industry, and it allows them to participate meaningfully in the transition.”

SoCalGas Chief Executive Officer Scott Drury echoed the sentiment that California is a leader in renewable energy.

“California has some of the boldest climate and clean air goals in the nation. The proposed Angeles Link aligns SoCalGas’ scale, 150 years of expertise in service, and our highly skilled workforce with the clean energy and environmental policies that will shape this century,” said Drury. “As the CPUC’s decision highlights, Angeles Link has the potential to support decarbonization for hard-toelectrify sectors of our economy, improve our air quality, bring new economic opportunities as well as sustain and grow skilled jobs to our region.”

2022 Movers and Shakers Year in Review

By Edward Henderson California Black Media

Chet Hewitt

Chet Hewitt is the President and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation and its independent operating unit, the Center for Health Program Management.

Since beginning his tenure in 2007, Hewitt has focused foundation investments on health disparities, health equity, and the healthy development and well-being of vulnerable youth and underserved communities.

California Black Media asked Hewitt to reflect on the past year and share his plans for 2023.

With the work you do advocating for African Americans in California, what was your biggest accomplishment in 2022?

The Center has long been dedicated to connecting our social determinants of health orientation to our social justice and equity goals.

I’m exceptionally proud of our efforts to increase access to high quality and culturally appropriate mental and behavioral health services in African American communities locally and statewide.

Examples include the Community Responsive Wellness Program for Black Communities in Sacramento and the statewide Behavioral Health Recovery Services Project.

What did you find most challenging over the past year?

We’re all still healing from the social isolation and financial instability of the pandemic.

This is especially true of our young people. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 24.

There are incredible challenges to restoring our collective well-being. I’m grateful for programs like our Community Responsive Wellness Program that connects Black youth and families with community and mental health services in Sacramento.

Connection is a key component of mental health.

What are you most looking forward to in 2023?

The Center launched the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative this year that will invest $19 million into equipping our communities to drive economic development.

Equitable access to opportunity leads to greater health and well-being.

I’m looking forward to seeing more public funds in the hands of our communities.

What’s the biggest challenge Black Californians will face next year?

It’s a watershed moment for Black Californians and their communities across our state.

The federal and state governments are investing billions into pandemic recovery and growing the Green economy.

For our community’s long-term health and prosperity, we need to work hard to ensure our children, youth and young adults have equitable access to the education, training and employment opportunities these historic investments in infrastructure and climate resilient industry will generate.

What’s your wish for this holiday season?

During this season and beyond, I wish everyone joy, loving relationships and a sustaining community. We all deserve to be well.

(Shutterstock Photo)

Chet Hewitt

Congress Considers Bill Making $60K the Minimum Salary for K-12 Teachers

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) introduced the American Teacher Act to incentivize states to increase the minimum K-12 teacher salary to $60,000 and adjust inflation.

Wilson, the chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee, said the financial incentive supports ongoing state efforts to provide competitive wages for teachers and address the national teacher shortage.

“Teachers deserve a raise. Unfortunately, our nation’s teachers have been underpaid, overworked, and deprived of resources for too long,” Wilson stated.

“That’s why I’m filing the American Teacher Act, to give our nation’s teachers the raise they have earned and deserve.”

Wilson called teachers the backbone of America’s education system and economy.

She noted that they play a foundational role in the development of children.

“For seven hours a day, they help shape and inspire young minds as well as nurture students academically and socially,” Wilson said.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, teachers continued to play a critical role in our recovery, underscoring their indispensability.”

The nonprofit Teacher Salary Project helped Wilson draft the bill, which they said responds to a national teacher shortage and low professional morale.

The bill creates a four-year federal grant program to increase teachers’ annual salaries to a minimum of $60,000 nationwide.

Additionally, it would create a four-year federal grant available to states and local educational agencies to guarantee the $60,000 minimum wage.

The bill wouldn’t reduce salaries for those already making more than $60,000 and wouldn’t replace existing federal, state, or local funds used toward teacher pay.

Earlier this year, EducationWeek estimated that more than 36,500 teacher vacancies exist in the United States.

They noted that uncredentialed teachers filled more than 163,500 positions. Meanwhile, the Teacher Salary Project pointed out that 74% of teachers don’t believe they receive fair pay.

“How do we get (teacher pay increases) to happen when people in the position to make change are so scared or intimidated by the price tag and the controversial topics associated with higher pay, like performance-based pay and increases in taxes?” Ellen Sherratt, board president of the Teacher Salary Project, told Education NC.

Wilson said teacher shortages count among the most pressing threats to education access today, with districts across the country forced to radically adjust school offerings to respond to turnover and prolonged vacancies.

“While teachers have never received the wages and respect commensurate with the work they do to help all children reach their promise and potential, the culture

wars and stagnant wages of the last few years have made this worse,” stated Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

“Recruiting and retaining a diverse teaching force has become increasingly difficult—indeed, most parents say they wouldn’t want their kids choosing teaching as a career,” Weingarten remarked. Weingarten continued:

“Rep. Frederica Wilson’s bill directly addresses these challenges by providing states with federal funding to incentivize school districts to create a minimum salary of $60,000 for teachers.

“It also funds a national campaign highlighting

the value of the teaching profession and encouraging young people to become teachers, using many of the recommendations in the AFT’s Teacher and School Staff Shortage Task Force report “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?” for recruiting the best candidates into teaching, including increasing compensation.

“This bill says put your money where your mouth is. We thank Rep. Wilson for her bold legislation addressing the low starting salaries that have plagued the teaching profession for generations, and we are proud to support this legislation.”

Wilson, the chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee, said the financial incentive supports ongoing state efforts to provide competitive wages for teachers and address the national teacher shortage.

“Teachers deserve a raise. Unfortunately, our nation’s teachers have been underpaid, overworked, and deprived of resources for too long,” Wilson stated.

Historical Changes Are Made On The Bakersfield City Council

By Janell Gore South Kern Sol

Manpreet Kaur and Andrae Gonzales have made history in Bakersfield. Kaur is now the first Sikh woman to serve on the Bakersfield City Council and Gonzales is the first Latino Vice Mayor of Bakersfield.

Both Kaur and Gonzales spoke of these new positions as being humbling and an honor to represent the community.

“It is an honor. It’s the most humbling experience I’ve had. Just the honor of my lifetime to be the voters choice first of all out of ward 7,” said Kaur. “Also to be able to represent my community, my ancestry in a way that creates visibility and really reflects more of Bakersfield, the city that we all live in and love.”

“It’s a humbling honor. It’s something that I think is really important not just for here now, for the Latino community that really represents the majority of the population of Bakersfield that we have a position of real leadership on the council,” said Gonzales. “But, I think it’s important for all of us people of color and all of our young people of color who are aspiring to do big things in our local community, big things in this world and the future. I think it’s important for us to demonstrate what good leadership looks like. So I take this role very seriously and I understand the responsibility ahead of me not only to be a good leader for all of Bakersfield but also to be a good model of what leadership means provided by a person

of color.”

The induction ceremony happened last week and both of them have already started doing work in their positions. According to an Instagram post, Gonzales made about his work; he accepted a proposal from Councilmember Eric Arias to make an Ad Hoc committee to address multimodal transportation and traffic safety. He also wants to start a citizen-led charter review originally referred by Chris Parlier when he was on the council.

Gonzales said the transportation committee is important for looking into how people are safely moving through town without cars.

“It’s not just about vehicle traffic, it can’t just be,” said Gonzales. “How do we make infrastructure that is better for people who walk, that are pedestrians? I have a lot of constituents in my ward, particularly East of the 99 who walk to work, who walk to school, who take the bus.”

Gonzales continued to explain the need for amenities that help with safe transportation to be present across town and not just on one side.

“Bicycle infrastructure is really an important piece. We have a pretty extensive 30-mile plus bike path in our city. It’s a great amenity,” said Gonzales. “But that amenity services people who live North of the 58. There’s a whole host of people, almost half of hour population lives south of the 58. How do we provide the same amenities… for people throughout the city to use bicycles as a primary way of transportation for everyday living.”

Gonzales stated that the city charter is old and has not had many changes made to it. One thing that he hopes the review address is the pay of city councilmembers. According to Gonzales, the charter states that council members are to be paid $100 a month. Gonzales feels this is an issue because due to the amount of work it takes to be a council member, not everyone has the “luxury” to serve.

“We have to realize that there is an equity issue when it comes to the city council as it relates to who can actually afford the time and the energy and the costs that it takes to serve on the city council,” said Gonzales. “ It’s unreasonable to ask future council members to work two full-time jobs especially if they want to have a family. So, we have to address this and the way we address this is through a city charter review.”

Kaur also spoke to addressing equity and how she wants to work on bridging the inequities sprayed by Hwy 99.

“There is a real divide between West of the 99 and East of the 99, that’s just a reality,” said Kaur. “So I’m thinking a lot about how we create equity even in a specific landscape and in one specific district. I know that’s not just unique to just my own district… So, I’m thinking a lot about how that 99 is creating inequities and how we can help bridge those.”

With this being Kaur’s first term she explained that she is really taking the time to learn the process and what she is able to do as city council. She also spoke about the need for

infrastructure that promotes safety as she reflects on what she has heard from residents during her campaigning.

“Right now I’m really taking stock of everything I got to learn during the campaign and on the campaign trail coupled with now learning the nuts and bolts and combining that to really have some short-term and longterm goals that I’m working on creating right now,” said Kaur.

As Kaur and Gonzales spoke about their roles they also expressed being thankful for their mentors and encouraged other young people of color to find mentors they can lean on and remember they are capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to.

“Reach out to others who are leading the way and seek their mentorship. That’s always been helpful for me and seek out their experience and their wisdom,” said Gonzales. “I think that there’s a real issue with a lot of us having imposter syndrome. This notion that we don’t deserve to be in the positions that we hold. That we are not good enough. That somehow people will discover that we are not good enough… We are smart enough. We are strong enough. We deserve a seat at the table.”

“It was other women who encouraged me. Who stood shoulder to shoulder with me,” said Kaur. “Who kind of pushed me forward and gave me the encouragement I needed and were in places of power and places of leadership that really reminded me that those places are also for us. Those advocacy roles are for us. If we don’t do it, who will?”