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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 9
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Election 2020 Update:
All California Black Caucus Members Hold Strong Leads in Races Joe W. Bowers Jr. California Black Media Election Day 2020 is behind us, and a winner for President of the United States has not been decided. As predicted, California voted overwhelming for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and they will be receiving the state’s 55 electoral votes. Also, as predicted, counting the votes in battleground states will take time to determine a state winner. There are seven battleground states that will determine the next President and right now Joe Biden is leading in four of those states (Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan). President Trump is leading in three (Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania). If the trends hold in the battleground states, Joe Biden is on course to collect at least 270 electoral votes and will be the next President. But, nothing is certain until all votes have been counted and all lawsuits that Trump is likely to
initiate have been resolved. In California elections, a ballot postmarked by Nov. 3 has up to 17 days later to be counted. Counties have until December 3 to certify contests for office. The vote counts in State District contests involving African American incumbents show that they have all either won or are winning their contests. In some of our local races Democrat TJ Cox (U.S. Representative 21st Cd) and Republican Kevin McCarthy (U.S. Representative 23rd Cd) both have been declared winners. In the 4 Bakersfield City School Board Member races the winners are Lillian Tafoya, Chris Cruz-Boone, Laura Guerrero-Salgado, and Shannon Zimmerman. In the City Ward elections we had Eric Arias (Ward 1), Andrae Gonzales (Ward 2), Bruce Freeman (Ward 5), and Patty Gray (Ward 6) as the winners. In the Congressional races – Barbara Lee, (Democrat – Congressional District 13), Karen Bass (Democrat – Congressional District 37 Los Angeles) and Maxine Waters (Democrat –
Congressional District 43 Los Angeles) have been declared winners. State Sen. Steve Bradford (Democrat- 35th Senate District) won his contest. In Assembly races, declared Legislative Black Caucus winners include: Kevin McCarty (Democrat – Assembly District 9), Chris Holden (Democrat – Assembly District 41), Sydney Kamlager (Democrat – Assembly District 54), and Autumn Burke (Democrat – Assembly District 62). Assemblymembers currently leading in their contests by double digits are Jim Cooper (Democrat – Assembly District 9), Reggie Jones Sawyer (Democrat – Assembly District 59) and Mike Gipson (Democrat – Assembly District 64). However, the percentages of votes counted at this time are not enough to project that those three state legislators will be re-elected in their districts. State Sen. Holly Mitchell (Democrat – 30th Senate District) was not up for re-election, but she was running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She is currently leading in her contest against Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson. If she wins, there will have to be a special election to find a replacement to complete her term in the State Senate.
Black Women Appeal to Black Men:
Show Up for Us and With Us at Ballot Box By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent After hip-hop Icon Ice Cube revealed that he’s working with President Donald Trump on a Contract with Black America, Black women wondered, “what’s in it for us?” In a blistering op-ed and retort to Cube’s actions, writer Shana Pinnock called the star’s efforts “ignorant, arrogant, paternalistic, and dangerous.” “As a dear friend of mine texted me just today, he ‘hit the ground running instead of hitting the ground reading,’” Pinnock wrote. Like so many other Black women, Pinnock had a real beef with the “contract” proposed by the rapper whose real name is O’Shea Jackson. “Moved by the public lynching of George Floyd this summer, O’Shea decided to get involved with politics and even went so far as to unveil his very own ‘Contract With Black America,’ which many Black folks (mainly men) supported vigorously,” Pinnock penned in the op-ed. “I was unsurprised by this fervor of support of the contract by Black men, mainly because an in-depth reading of the document reveals that, at its core, it centers Black men.” “When Black women pointed out that we were conspicuously being left out of this contract — because, let’s be clear — we need specificity when dealing with Black men, O’Shea had no answers.” Cube has steadfastly stood by his decision and has maintained that his working with Trump on the plan in no way signals an endorsement of the president. However, Pinnock’s missives underscore one crucial fact: Black women have remained the backbone of the Democratic Party’s success. Few could argue that, much more than Black men, women of color have led in ways that men have not. “Black women have long been the heart of the Democratic Party — certainly among the party’s most reliable and loyal voters — but for decades that allegiance didn’t translate to their own political rise,” Tanya St. Julien, the chief of staff at Leadership for Educational Equity in New York, wrote in an email to Black Press USA. “There have been zero Black female governors, just two senators, several dozen congresswomen, and this has translated into the people who represent them, not meeting their needs, disparities in education and opportunity,” St. Julien declared. “Health inequities ranging from maternal wellness to the preconditions for the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 has had on the Black community. Add the countless cases of police brutality that have sparked the most recent clamoring for racial justice, and you have a perfect picture of leadership, not addressing the needs of Black women.” St. Julien proclaimed that the value of the Black community is on the 2020 ballot.
Much more than Black men, women of color have led in ways that men have not. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)
“At a time when the entire world has paused to reflect, and have a long-overdue racial reckoning, when the world is finally coming to recognize that Black lives matter, this president and his administration are all but saying that Black lives don’t matter,” St. Julien continued. “In fact, Jared Kushner just said that Black people need to want to be successful as if we are responsible for the conditions perpetuated by systemic racism. It’s been years, and Flint [Michigan] still doesn’t have clean water. Generations have passed, and many of us lack appropriate housing conditions, and now our children are stuck in the digital divide, unable to access one of society’s most important resources.” On Thursday, October 29, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scheduled its “Policy for the People” virtual brain trust series, “Voting Rights and Black America: Why Black Women Leadership Matters.” Foundation officials pointed out Black women’s historical significance and voting, including in 1968, when Shirley Chisholm made history as the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Today, 43 Black women serve in the U.S. Congress and one in the Senate. Additionally, seven Black women serve as mayors in the nation’s 100 largest cities, and 307 serve in the state
legislature. “We understand why Black men are disgusted and exhausted. As a Black woman, I am disgusted and exhausted, too,” Roxey Nelson, the vice president of Political and Strategic Campaigns for 1199SEIU in Florida, told Black Press USA. “But I encourage my brothers to ask themselves why are ‘they’ working so hard to suppress our votes if our votes don’t matter? Our vote has always been an act of resistance – an exercise of our power,” Nelson remarked. “This election even more so. This time, let’s vote like our collective soul depends on it because it does.” Corryn Freeman, the state director at Florida for All Education Fund, said the message from Black women to Black men is evident. “It should be ‘vote for our lives, vote for the collective Black, We.’ Because we always will show up for you. It’s your turn to show up for our community.” Added Moné Holder, a Senior Program Director at New Florida Majority, “A message to all Black men this election cycle is that this is bigger than the Democratic party. This is the fight of our lives. We cannot win this battle without you. Show up for us and with us at the ballot box.
Free!
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Pregnant Woman Pushes Labor Aside to Cast Vote
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A pregnant Florida woman didn’t let labor stop her from casting her vote in the presidential election, refusing to go to the hospital until she filled out her ballot. Officials with the Orange County Supervisor of Elections said the woman was already in labor when she arrived at the polling site with her husband Tuesday afternoon, news outlets reported. Elections employee Karen Briceno Gonzalez said the husband asked for a ballot for his wife and later told the staff that she was in the car, in labor and refusing to go to the hospital until she was able to vote. Briceno Gonzalez said she rushed outside to give the woman her ballot and check her ID. The staffer thought the woman would fill it out later, but while doing some controlled Lamaze breathing, the woman filled the ballot out right away. Elections clerk Eileen Deliz said the couple never mentioned why the woman waited until she was in labor to cast her vote. “Maybe she wanted to come in-person at one point and that’s why she was waiting, who knows. But she wouldn’t go to the hospital until she voted,” Deliz said. Deliz said the unexpected incident delivered a bunch of smiles to the election workers. “We are very, very busy, but when something like that happens it just makes our day,” Deliz said. “Every election cycle brings us a great little story.” Officials said the woman’s husband later drove her to an Orlando hospital.
Canceled 2021 Rose Parade
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – The 2021 Rose Parade is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but viewers will still get a show with a two-hour television special on New Year’s Day, organizers said. The Tournament of Roses Association said in a Thursday news release that the TV special will include “live-to-tape musical and marching band performances, heartwarming segments related to the Rose Parade, celebrity guest appearances,” and highlights from past Rose Bowl football games. And of course there will be “spectacular floats from years past,” as well as a behind-the-scenes look into the making of flower-laden displays that are the trademark of the parade, the release said. The Pasadena, California, association said in July that it was canceling the 132nd parade because of the risk of spreading COVID-19 infections among its huge audience and participants. The Rose Bowl college football game that traditionally follows the parade is still scheduled for New Year’s Day. Since its inception in 1891, the parade has only not occurred during the wartime years of 1942, 1943 and 1945, the association said. Thousands of spectators normally jam the 5-mile (8-kilometer) parade route through Pasadena, some camping out overnight on sidewalks to ensure a good view.
School Mural Slavery Depiction
CANTON, Ohio (AP) – Officials in an Ohio school district have placed a temporary cover over a historical mural at a high school after concerns were raised about its depiction of slavery. A black and red banner reading “Champions are made ... and success is tradition” now covers the mural at McKinley High School’s downtown campus in the Canton City Schools district, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Administrators decided in September to conceal the northern portion of the 195-foot-long mural that encircles the school’s food court and meeting area after at least one person voiced concerns during the last school year. One section of the “Highlights of American History” mural, which illustrates U.S. history until the middle of World War II, shows a white man with a whip lunging toward a shirtless Black man whose hands are bound to a pillar. Superintendent Jeff Talbert said in a statement that the covering is a temporary remedy until the district can host a communitywide “true conversation” about whether the mural remains appropriate . “As the school year began, our leadership team determined that the highly charged climate around social injustice and the marginalization of certain groups within our school and city communities elevated the immediate need to cover up parts of the mural that have been deemed offensive and inappropriate,” wrote Talbert, who took over as superintendent in August. The art deco mural dedicated in 1943 contains more than 350 historical figures, beginning with Christopher Columbus in the 1490s and extending to the United States emerging from the Depression and entering the Second World War. The artist, Timken High School student Frank Marchione, who spent two years painting the mural, died in 2012 at age 90. His son, David Marchione, said removing the mural his father painted because it shows the oppression of slavery would be a mistake akin to removing artwork that shows the crucifixion of Christ. “The reason (the crucifixion) is depicted so much is because it is the thing that shows the triumph of Christ above the cruelty of humanity,” David Marchione said. He noted that an illustration to the right of the slavery image shows President Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. “The idea that slavery is depicted and people are undergoing the suffering of slavery is an example of the triumph of the United States as a self-transforming society and the triumph of the African American people over the oppression of slavery,” he said. By not acknowledging the horrors of slavery, people cannot truly understand the triumphs of civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Marchione said. He said rather than hiding the depiction of slavery, educators should use it as a teaching tool.