Richmond Pulse May 2024

Richmond Holds 17th Annual International Women’s Day Event

Repeated Refinery Flarings Prompt Town Halls in Richmond, Martinez

BY SAMANTHA KENNEDY

The Chevron Richmond refinery has reportedly had several flaring events in just a few months, prompting a slew of complaints to air quality officials.

Richmond residents have long known the many ways the refinery can affect their lives — playgrounds wrapped in smoke, smelly gasses confining them indoors, chemical release drills in schools, just for starters. But while the issue is not new, the recent flares, which send plumes of black smoke and flames into the sky, have many residents concerned.

In response, the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Communities for a Better Environment on March 21 held a “flaring town hall” at Peres Elementary School and online to inform Richmond residents of health risks from the Chevron refinery and how they can protect themselves.

“Flaring is not normal at all,” said CBE staff researcher Martine Johannessen. Johannessen says there are three excuses Chevron uses to justify its flaring —

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under the pretense of being a safer or more environmentally friendly option or being unavoidable. Flaring is avoidable, they say, if Chevron takes the necessary precautions.

Flaring happens when gasses produced as part of the oil refining process are burned in the air. Gasses released can worsen and contribute to certain health issues, especially respiratory conditions like asthma.

Richmond’s long history with Chevron incidents, including recent flaring events, was the reason APEN and CBE organized the town hall. CBE says the refinery has flared at least nine times just since November. That November, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District received 100 complaints for one flaring incident. One resident told Richmond Confidential in November she noticed an “intense smell of burning and gas” during one flaring that month that drew comparisons to the 2012 refinery fire. Multiple complaints of flaring on New Year’s Eve were followed by another flare less than a week later.

Youth leaders from the two organizations at the meeting gave a

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brief overview of the health impacts of Chevron’s flaring before providing the group with some tools the community can use.

CBE leaders stressed the importance of community in protecting each other from Chevron’s flaring, with many presentation slides stating: “We keep us safe.”

Youth leaders said, that because Chevron only has to self-report its incidents, community members should document everything. They can report what they see, smell or hear to BAAQMD online at baaqmd.gov/online-services/ air-pollution-complaints. or at 1-800334-6367.

Residents can also take action that will show immediate results. Leaders recommended creating a do-it-yourself air filter using a box fan. The air filter can be used together with other immediate actions residents can take during a flaring event, such as closing all windows

Action is not just necessary during events, according to leaders, but also during efforts to prevent them.

Some existing strategies to hold Chevron accountable for its flaring include signing a petition to give

In Pictures: Career Fair Prepares CCC Students for Workforce

residents timely, accurate alerts regarding refinery incidents and participating at a BAAQMD board meeting. Another local refinery town has been dealing with flaring as well and has responded with a town hall of its own. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier hosted a town hall March 25 in Martinez because of “numerous flaring and other chemical release events” at refineries there, ABC7News.com reported. In the past year, the Martinez Refining Company has reported at least 46 release incidents.

BAAQMD in February announced “unprecedented penalties” as part of a settlement that the Chevron and Martinez refineries will have to pay to further help impacted communities. Chevron will pay tens of millions of dollars for non-compliance with regulations after July 2026 and a $20 million fine for other violations.

That settlement also includes $20 million to go to a new Community Air Quality Fund, which will pay for projects that reduce airborne particulate matter in impacted communities. •

ANA TELLEZ-WITRAGO

This plume of smoke came from the Chevron Richmond refinery on Nov. 27, 2023, as a result of flaring.

‘Women Together Can Move Mountains’: Richmond Holds 17th Annual International Women’s Day Event

BY NATASHA KAYE

The halls of Lovonya DeJean Middle School were filled with music, color, laughter and stories of sisterhood as the Sisters in Solidarity/Hermanas en Solidad held the 17th annual International Women’s Day Celebration on March 16 to honor the accomplishments of local women and to spread awareness of community resources in and around Richmond.

“This event, these people are here to recognize and acknowledge women,” said Trina Jackson-Lincoln, the project coordinator for the City Council. “We wear so many hats as mothers, in our careers, as wives, and we don’t always get recognized for all we do and uphold.”

The Sisters in Solidarity is a planning committee composed of city of Richmond staff and women from various organizations. The group meets several months before March — Women’s History Month in the U.S. and various other countries — to begin planning the celebration. At its peak, before the pandemic, the event drew in close to 400 attendees.

The event at Lovonya DeJean Middle School was emceed by Jovanka Beckles, a former Richmond City Council member who is running for the state Senate seat in District 7. This year’s theme is centered on inclusivity, investing in progress, and upward mobility for women.

Contributors

Joe Porrello

Samantha Kennedy

Denis Perez-Bravo

Ana Tellez-Witrago

Natasha Kaye

Naja Ji Jaga

Advisors

Vernon Whitmore

Sandy Close

Michael J. Fitzgerald

Richmond Pulse is a community news project founded by New America Media, focusing on health and community coverage in the city of Richmond, California.

The project is supported by The California Endowment. Inquiries

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The celebration kicked off with the Latina Center hosting a lively performance of batucada, an ensemble of percussion and dance similar to samba.

Nineteen organizations came out in support, including the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, the Berkeley Chess School and the California Commision on Aging, with each group staffing their own table to spread the word on their resources and causes.

The Social Justice Council of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley held a letter-writing campaign to encourage voters in Georgia to show up to vote in their state’s primary election which will be held in May.

“We’re just trying to save democracy, what can I say,” said Norie Clark, a member of the Social Justice Council.

This year also marked the first time the celebration drew enough sponsors to support the creation of a $500 Legacy Award for Service named for the late former Mayor Irma L. Anderson.

Anderson was a public service-oriented figurehead for the city. She held roles in public health, public transportation, education, City Council, and became the first Black female mayor in Richmond when she was elected in 2001. She died in January.

“We thought it would be a great tribute, in memoriam, to start this award because it’s aligned with what this celebration is. So moving forward, we will ask for nominations from the community on

who the following year’s recipient should be,” said Jackson-Lincoln.

This year’s prize went to the House of Loving Hands, a center that helps women and children who have been victims of domestic violence find housing alternatives in the Bay Area.

After the tribute to Anderson, there was a raffle and bingo game followed by a recognition of women-owned businesses and organizations. Afterwards, Soulfully Dope Kitchen, a Black woman-owned catering business in Richmond, provided lunch.

After lunch, at a panel discussion titled “Count Her In: Invest in Women and Accelerate Progress,” community leaders and activists Taylor Sims, Sarah Pritchard, Ilaf Esuf and Linda Whitmore spoke on pathways to female empowerment at the local, county, state and national levels.

The Women’s Day celebration itself was started 17 years ago by another female former Richmond mayor, current City Council member Gayle Mclaughlin. The chair of Berkeley Chess School, Queen Graham, is one planning committee member who has been involved since year one.

“I believe in women and mobility and sisterhood,” said Graham. “Women together can move mountains and when all women in sisterhood support each other, that’s when the real positive change comes.” •

Generational Wealth Now in Reach for First-Time California Homebuyers

BY SELEN OZTURK ETHNIC MEDIA SERVICES

H omeownership, often the first step for generational wealth, is ever-more unaffordable for California families — especially those of color.

Now, the California Housing Finance Agency is changing that for firstgeneration homebuyers with its Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan Program.

Dream For All

The program, now in its second round thanks to $250 million from the state Legislature, helped 2,000 homebuyers in its first round in April 2023. Dream For All is aimed to help another 2,000 now through a mortgage-lowering loan of up to $150,000 or 20% of a house purchase price, whichever is less.

“With this program, we’re trying to jumpstart the generational wealth that owning a home can get you,” said CalHFA Information Officer Eric Johnson. “If it’s a 20% loan, for example, you do have to pay that 20% when you sell or refinance the home, plus 20% of what you’ve gained in the sale, so we can use that money to fund the next generation of new homebuyers.

To be considered a first-generation homebuyer, applicants must not have owned their first home in the last seven years, and their parents must not currently own a home — or, if they died, must not have owned one at their passing. Those who were in the foster care system at any time also qualify.

To qualify for the loan, at least one

person on it must be a California resident and at least one person must be a firstgeneration homebuyer, but these need not be the same person.

Income limits also apply per county, though they are as high as $287,000 for buyers in Santa Clara County and $280,000 for San Francisco and Marin.

“It does feel a little bit strange that a low-to-moderate-income homebuyer can make that much, but that’s where California is these days,” said Johnson.

Unlike the “first come, first served” first round of loans in 2023, this application period will be a lottery randomly drawn from applications filed between April 3 and April 29, so that funds are distributed more fairly. Although no announcement date for drawn names is set after they’re audited, it will likely be the first or second week of May.

To enter the lottery, first-time homebuyers will need a credit approval letter from one of CalHFA’s approved lenders. Those who win the loan have 90 days to find and buy a home.

“There are so many Californians who have a good income, who have good jobs and credit, but haven’t been able to save up for a downpayment, not having the advantage of intergenerational wealth,” said Johnson.

Generational and racial wealth gaps

A disproportionate amount of these homebuyers are from communities of color, said Maeve Elise Brown, executive director and founder of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates.

In 2023, the homeownership rate for Black U.S. households was at 45.9% — 28.6 percentage points below the white rate of 74.4%. For Latino households, the

gap was a similar 25.8% below the white rate.

A 2022 poll with similar results found that 38% of white adults said they’d received at least $10,000 in gifts or loans from a relative for large expenses like a down payment, while only 14% of Black, 16% of Latino and 19% of Native American adults had.

“Though homeownership has been a generational economic driver, property values are outpacing our ability to pay them” — the average California home price is over $765,000 as of March 2024 — “and the debt people of color carry, especially student debt, creates a downpayment and safe loan credit barrier,” said Brown.

Black bachelor’s degree holders, for instance, have an average of $52,000 in student debt, and four years after graduation, they hold nearly twice as much debt as their white peers. Forty-six percent of Black student borrowers are likely to put off buying a home due to this debt.

As this wealth gap expands, the racial homeownership gap is stagnating, said Ria Cotton, a broker and owner of Cotton Realty.

As of 2022, 72% of white Americans, 63% of Asian Americans, 51% of Hispanic Americans and 44% of Black Americans owned a home.

While the overall American homeownership rate rose from 64.7% a decade prior to 65.5% in 2022, the Blackwhite homeownership gap rose from 26% to 29%, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“The Dream For All loan lets people historically disadvantaged from buying See Homebuyers,

‘American Homeboy’ Pays

Cinematic Ode to Chicano Culture

BY DENIS PEREZ-BRAVO

L owriders lined Castro Road in San Pablo, there for a screening of “American Homeboy," a documentary about the pachucho and cholo Chicano subcultures.

The free screening, hosted April 12 at the John & Jean Knox Performing Arts Center at Contra Costa College, was followed by a Q&A with the director, Brandon Loran Maxwell; John Ulloa, who teaches anthropology at Skyline College and is featured in the film; and SF State doctoral students.

Loran Maxwell’s journey with “American Homeboy” began with his collaboration with the late Hayward producer Juan Espinoza to restore archival footage.

Espinoza, the creator of "Barrio Expressions," a community access television show documenting Chicanx and Latinx life in the Bay Area from 1976-85, provided a rich pool of historical documentation.

As the restoration continued, Loran Maxwell's personal connection to the subculture drove him to envision making a documentary.

"I grew up in this subculture," he said. He got involved with drugs and gangs and served time in jail. Loran Maxwell also dropped out of high school at 17 before continuing his education later in life.

He went on to become an awardwinning writer whose work has been featured in The Hill, Salon, Townhall, The Washington Examiner and The Oregonian, among other publications, according to his biography on his website.

But as a writer in D.C., Loran Maxwell says he was not allowed to write about Chicano culture.

So his goal with the film was to “contextualize it for regular people,”

"I grew up in this subculture," said Brandon Loran Maxwell, director of the documentary "American Homeboy" about Chicano culture, during a screening April 12 at Contra Costa College.

he said. “What I did try to do was create a cohesive storyline that was compelling that allowed people to follow the basics and walk away with a better understanding of the culture.”

The film's production spanned three years, involving interviews and the restoration of archival footage. After a successful screening in Los Angeles, the project gained momentum and has now been screened in over 30 cities in five months.

Ulloa underscored the importance of preserving Chicano culture authentically. Having written his dissertation on developing lowriding as a teaching tool, he cautioned against commodifying culture for profit. "Corporations are taking the aesthetic and leaving the carcass of everything not wanted," he said. “History demonstrates that if we don't control and speak our one truth, someone else will co-opt it and give their version of it. “

And he hopes bringing lowriding and Chicano culture into educational spaces will move the culture forward.

"It is a very big treat that we are screening it here," said Lorena Gonzalez, who teaches La Raza studies at CCC.

So far, the documentary has only been screened on college and university campuses and in community theaters, she said.

After watching a screening in August 2023, Gonzalez got to planning a future screening at CCC.

Established between 1969-1970, CCC's La Raza studies program stands as one of the nation's few remaining dedicated to the discipline.

As a federally designated Hispanic institution, CCC embodies its commitment to diversity with 46% of its student body identifying as Hispanic.

"This event tonight is the manifestation of bringing in those theoretical frameworks that we talk about in academia," Gonzalez said. “Just like the documentary and this event, we center the people in the community.”

The documentary is available to be streamed online at chelatv.com. •

WCCUSD School Board Says It’s Received Threats, Racist Messages

BY SAMANTHA KENNEDY

Trustee Mister Phillips knew he might face death by joining the military. Sitting on the West Contra Costa school board isn’t the same, but he still has worries of his own. He has a wife, a family.

School board members, who are mostly people of color, say they have faced threats against themselves and family in response to one member’s censure and a principal’s reassignment. Some have been calling for members to be recalled as well.

President Jamela Smith-Folds offered the names of civil rights leaders to the board for comfort — Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. Phillips had names of his own — Betty, Myrlie and Coretta, the respective wives of Malcolm X, Evers and King. “My wife is not trying to be Coretta, Myrlie or Betty, ” said Phillips. ”I have to be here.”

While discussing an antiracism statement and ethics committee March 20, some members took issue with a sentence in the statement and the committee as a whole, saying they might be used against certain board members. Phillips, who raised the initial concerns, referred to the board’s handling of Trustee Leslie Reckler’s censure and backlash from the community for that and the reassignment of Pinole Valley High School principal Kibby Kleiman.

“We commit to holding each board member accountable towards these goals and moving the work of antiracism forward,” that sentence reads.

Phillips’ attempt to change that sentence, mainly because of the word “accountable” and how it had been used during Reckler’s censure, failed. The board did pass the original antiracism statement 3-2 with Phillips and Reckler abstaining, but the divide was familiar. Phillips, Reckler and student trustee Lola Abdugapparov wanted to know what being held accountable meant and what it looked like.

Community members have their own definitions of it. Since Reckler’s censure, some from the El Cerrito High School and Pinole Valley communities have become increasingly vocal about their distrust and frustration with four board members. Residents have entertained recall efforts for the four who either voted to censure Reckler or reassign Kleiman — Smith-Folds, Clerk Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy, Phillips and Trustee Otheree Christian.

Gonzalez-Hoy said one message he received from a member of the community accused the board of treating white people differently. Another, in response to the censure of Reckler, was a threat against his wife.

Phillips has received similar messages. A sender said Phillips and the other three board members who voted to reassign Kleiman need to be removed “by any means necessary.”

Much of the public criticism of the board, which is all Black or Brown except Reckler, is not overtly racist.

But Gonzalez-Hoy said the four had all received racist messages since Kleiman’s reassignment. Members of the public have also made public accusations of the board pushing a “woke agenda” and

DENIS PEREZ-BRAVO

Career Fair Prepares CCC Students for Workforce

For second-year Contra Costa College student Albina Alma, the reality of life after graduation weighs heavy on her mind.

Like most students, her biggest worry is finding a job and steady income.

“It’s difficult because there are so many people out there competing and striving to be their best,” Alma said. “Some are anxious and confused about what to do next, and they don’t really know what’s happening or have the right guidance."

Looking to ease some of that angst, Alma was one of over 100 people who attended the Contra Costa College Career and Internship Fair on April 3.

“These things really inspire students,” Alma said. “It makes me happy to know that there’s something out there for me.”

The career fair brought together 75 employers — many of which were law enforcement agencies — for students to explore life after graduation.

Numerous students said they hoped to minimize their self-doubt about being in the working world by attending the fair.

According to ABC, a 2023 study observing the mental health and well-being of young professionals found

“recent college graduates are not ‘emotionally’ ready for the workforce.”

Keon Stewart is only in his first semester, but he’s trying to get ahead of the curve in his employment. Not yet settled on a particular field of work, he said he thinks about potential careers very often and is quite nervous about finding the right one.

“I know figuring things out will be hard, but if I find an opportunity, I’m definitely going to take advantage of it,” he said. “I feel like this is a good chance to scope out what I want to do.”

Meghan Ennis Ortega, the senior program coordinator for career and internships at Contra Costa College, said the fair is a way for the school to be part of the solution.

“Events like this are super important to get our students connected with employers here who are waiting to hire them for part-time jobs, full-time jobs and internships,” she said. “It’s one of the key pillars we have here at Contra Costa College to get students employment.”

Ennis Ortega said there were more employers at this year’s fair than the last, which she pointed to as a positive sign for students wanting to test the job waters as they have more to choose from.

The opportunity to meet employers and learn about

jobs isn’t the only way CCC is helping prepare students for the workforce.

The fair also featured the launch of the Comet Career Closet, which will let students make appointments to shop for professional clothes — free of charge. Not being able to afford the right clothes can be a significant barrier to employment for many.

As job seekers poured into the new closet space Ennis Ortega noted how pleased she was with the fair’s turnout.

Like Keon Stewart, juniors at Middle College High School Victoria Ames and Diana Lopez want to get an early start on choosing an employment path. Though the pair did not meet age requirements of many of the employers present, Ames said the fair was still valuable. (Middle College High School is an early-college high school program located on the CCC campus.)

“It’s learning what to look out for so that we can be prepared and get our resumes together, so we can get the experience we might need,” she said.

Lopez agreed.

“I think it’s important for young people to learn more so they can be comfortable going into specific fields and know exactly what they’re getting into,” she said. “Being here makes me confident that I’ll be able to find a job more easily.” •

Tables featuring 75 different employers gave students and others attending the Contra Costa College career fair a wide variety of options to choose from for potential job opportunities.

STORY AND PHOTOS • JOE PORRELLO

In his first semester at Contra Costa College, Keon Stewart is trying to get the ball rolling early on finding a career path.

Students were shown many options for a career in law enforcement, including with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A Dream Café Blooms in Richmond

BY DENIS PEREZ-BRAVO

F or years, Richmond resident Nancy Subias worked in other people’s restaurants. But all along, she nurtured a fervent desire in her heart to open her own café. “I always had this dream,” she said.

That dream has become a reality.

Subias, 38, and her family opened the aptly named El Jardín de los Sueños, or The Garden of Dreams, March 13.

“The last three weeks have been living the dream I always had in my mind and in my heart,” Subias said. “Now, it’s real.”

The new café is open every day, as early as 5:30 in the morning on weekdays.

“What a lot of people think is convenient is that we are open so early,” said Manny Vidal Subias, Nancy’s nephew. “Another convenient thing is that once you leave here, the freeway is right there.”

He said morning commuters will grab coffee or breakfast or even lunch for later.

The menu includes sandwiches, juices and protein smoothies, and Subias has plans to expand it, offering salads and wraps with quinoa and brown rice.

“The food here is healthy, but it is also tasty,” she said.

El Jardín de los Sueños has partnered up with different businesses to provide a variety of products, like the East Bay’s own Starter Bakery for pastries and Noah’s Bagels for, well, bagels. The café serves coffee from Catahoula Coffee.

Subias’ desire to open her own spot can be traced back to another Bay Area café.

One of her first jobs was at Chatz coffee shop in San Francisco.

“I fell in love with the job so much but also with the people.”

Homebuyers...

Continued from page 2

a home leverage that generational wealth, but we can’t stop there,” said Cotton. “We have to start with helping communities build credit, minimize debtto-income and save for a downpayment, and talk about what happens after you buy — from foreclosure prevention, to developing more property, to using your credit for equity, like buying a car for lower interest rates.”

“Our message with this loan program is: ‘There’s hope. It’s still possible to buy a house in California,’ ” added Johnson.

“We have a wealth gap in this country that’s driving unequal homeownership, and this loan shows us how much your generational legacy matters in powering through it,” said Cotton. •

At El Jardín de los Sueños, Subias is trying to create a welcoming atmosphere for people of all ages to enjoy. She wants the community to know that they can come in and feel like it’s home.

Warm lighting and greenery decorate the café. For now, the only seating is indoors and the plants are artificial, but Subias hopes to change all that by opening the patio up to customers and decorating it with plants and flowers.

The café also has a kids’ corner furnished with toys, books and kid-sized seats.

The kids’ corner is an homage to a former tenant of the building — Adventure Kinderland Playground.

“They can come with their kids,” Subias said. “This is a place where they can meet their friends and be here as long as they want. This is for the community.”

WCCUSD...

Continued from page 3

speculation Reckler and Kleiman were censured and reassigned for being white.

One interaction some in the community point to is a statement read by Smith-Folds at the Feb. 7 meeting, where she said Reckler had used "white tears" to get her way and was given more grace than she was as a Black woman. Some community members disliked Smith-Folds’ comments, saying they knew her decisions had been based on Reckler and Kleiman’s race all along.

Behavior by some of the public and relations on the board is exactly why Phillips is concerned with the language and processes of the board. As a Black man and the longest-sitting board member, he is familiar with how some in the community treat him. Waiting for him to mess up, even trying to bribe him. He worries board decisions like these might mean “open season” on members.

Smith-Folds said certain language like the word “accountable” was what gave the statement bite.

Phillips said policy would be more effective.

“For us to actually have the bite that you’re talking about, it’s not statements. It’s policy,” said Phillips.

The board says it has seen racist incidents every year in the district. Just within the last year, reports of antiBlack racism in the district have sparked conversations surrounding the use of the n-word and discrimination against Black Student Unions.

In the coming meetings, the board will also see a district antiracism statement. •

Richmond City Council member Claudia Jimenez happened to be at the café the day Contra Costa Pulse visited.

“I think that it’s a great space. It has a lot of seating. Also, it has a place for kids, so I can bring my daughter to be here as well,” Jimenez said.

By living her dream, Subias hopes to inspire her own younger relatives.

“I always tell my nephews, you have to find dreams and work for them. And if one dream isn’t the right thing, find another dream. That’s how life is for me.”

If You Go: El Jardín de los Sueños, located at 12411 San Pablo Ave., is open Monday through Friday 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. •

New café El Jardîn de los Sueños, or The Garden of Dreams, is located at 12411 San Pablo Ave., just before the I-80 onramp in Richmond.

As Hatred of Women Increases, So Do Mass Killings

BY NAJA JI JAGA

A n Ohio man in February was sentenced to prison for plotting to “slaughter” women. He is yet another in a long line of self-described “incels” who threaten or commit violence against women, but he is the first convicted on federal hate crime charges.

He was planning a mass shooting of women at an Ohio university in 2020 before being arrested in 2021. “I will slaughter out of hatred, jealousy, and revenge,” he wrote in a manifesto. He pleaded guilty to attempting a hate crime in 2022.

Incels, short for “involuntary celibates,” are men who blame and resent women for their lack of romantic involvement, using online forums to express frustration, outrage and even violent thoughts. Like other internet trolls, most incels spend practically all of their time online, exploiting the anonymity of the internet — sometimes to vent into an echo chamber and sometimes to foster discontent and resentment.

But it is a mistake to see those who confine themselves to online spaces as any different from those who act on their hateful ideology, according to Lisa Sugiura, a senior lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. “Separating ‘extreme’ versions of an ideology from more ‘mundane’ ones creates an artificial dichotomy between the deviant fringe and mainstream ideologies that, in actuality are based on the same assumptions,” she writes in her 2021 book, “The Incel Rebellion: The Rise of the Manosphere and the Virtual War Against Women.”

The manosphere encompasses pro-masculine and antifeminine online groups, including incels, men’s rights activists and pick-up artists. Over time, the factions of the manosphere have trudged from the fringes of the internet into the mainstream and even ventured offline with real-world consequences.

Incels tend to glorify those among them who commit mass violence. Many have canonized one man, in particular, in their dark online world.

That man, also a self-described incel, killed seven people, including himself, and injured 14 others in Isla Vista, California, on May 23, 2014. But not until after sharing hateful beliefs in a video he posted online and a manuscript he sent to relatives, acquaintances and his therapist. Among other things, the 22-year-old said he wanted to hurt women for rejecting him.

The U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center highlighted his killing spree as an example of misogynistic extremism in its March 2022 report

Contra Costa Expands Healthcare for Undocumented Residents

BY ANA TELLEZ-WITRAGO

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on April 9 unanimously approved removing immigration requirements and raised income eligibility limitations for the county’s basic healthcare program.

The amended policy aims to assist 10,500 uninsured people by providing access to general care, mental health, specialist medical care, and emergency and inpatient treatments within the county’s healthcare network and community clinics.

Supervisor John Gioia described the healthcare expansion as a corrective measure for a “mistake.”

During the 2009 recession, the county added legal status as a requirement to qualify for its public healthcare. This measure would rescind that requirement.

“We are creating equity by removing the barrier we placed in 2009 on undocumented [people] when they were kicked off the program,” said Gioia during the board meeting.

He clarified that the recommendations do not create

“Hot Yoga Tallahassee: A Case Study of Misogynistic Extremism.”

Cases of misogynistic terrorism are motivated by an extreme desire to put women down and build men up, though the Isla Vista shooter did also target men because he was jealous of those who had relationships with women.

“No misogynist killer articulated the terroristic intention behind his selected target more clearly than (he did),” wrote Alex DiBranco in the 2020 article “Male Supremacist Terrorism as a Rising Threat” for the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at The Hague.

Another self-described incel called the Isla Vista shooter the “Supreme Gentleman” and referenced the “Incel Rebellion” in a Facebook post before driving a van through a crowd of pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10.

This is all in line with Secret Service findings.

The Secret Service analyzed the role of misogyny in targeted violence and found a growing number of terrorist threats motivated by a hatred of women. It released those findings in the “Hot Yoga” case study, which examined the behavior of the man, identified in the report only by initials, who, in 2018, killed two women and injured four others at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, before killing himself. The case study focused on him because “this attacker’s history highlights the specific threat posed by misogynistic extremism,” the report says.

While incels focus most of their hatred on women, they are not their only targets. Most incels are young,

a separate healthcare plan but allow all income-eligible county residents to access the county’s healthcare plan regardless of their immigration status.

“This is equal. You’re treated the same whether you’re a resident, a citizen or undocumented,” Gioia said. “You are eligible for basic healthcare.”

The recommendations were developed by a working committee composed of representatives from the supervisor’s offices, Contra Costa Health, Aliados Health, Contra Costa Employment and Human Services Department, and Healthy Contra Costa’s One Contra Costa Coalition.

The working group went through a six-month process of reviewing and learning from health coverage programs in other counties and analyzing Contra Costa County-specific data. Their goal was to increase access to health coverage for the uninsured, guided by equity.

California this year made all undocumented incomeeligible individuals able to qualify for Medi-Cal regardless of age, yet the working group found that many county residents still do not qualify for it or Covered California.

The high cost of living in the Bay Area is one of the primary reasons for their exclusion. A living wage for an individual in Contra Costa County is considered to be $46,488 per year, much higher than the $20,121 per person limit for Medi-Cal. Often, those who make too much money to qualify for Medi-Cal can get subsidized insurance through Covered California. However, the immigration requirements for that program have not been lifted, leaving many low-income undocumented people without a healthcare option.

The expansion will cover people making 138%300% of the federal poverty level, which is $15,060 for an individual in the contiguous United States (i.e., excluding Alaska and Hawaii) in 2024. That comes out to a range of $20,782.80 to $45,180.

white, straight men, and they will direct their ire at anyone who does not fit into these labels.

The term incel rose to widespread usage in the mid2010s, but the underlying ideology has been ingrained into our society for much longer. Still, as technology and social media have become essential facets of our lives, they have given misogynists bigger platforms.

In her book, Sugiura wrote that characterizing some incels as extreme or not “obscures systems of oppression and ‘everyday’ misogyny — particularly online, where such boundaries can be harder to differentiate — that have become socially sanctioned and normalized.”

In concluding the “Hot Yoga” report, the Secret Service said that anyone “who may be in a position to intervene” needs to take heed of “objectively concerning behavior” and take action before it escalates to violence. In addition to hateful ideology, concerning behavior can also stem from “desperation or despair, a need for belonging or connection with others, and a desire for attention or notoriety.” Those able to intervene can include family, friends, educators, co-workers and online peers.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to cavshate.org •

Expanding health coverage is projected to result in lower costs for the county. According to the health department consultant, not all of the expenses for this program will be new, and people will have better access to preventative care and comprehensive services, which will reduce expensive emergency room visits. While the internal health care network is not expected to incur new costs, partnering with community clinics is estimated to cost $750,000.

“After 15 years of exclusion, our immigrant friends, families, and communities will no longer have to worry about whether they can access healthcare,” said Roxanne Carrillo Garza, senior director for Healthy Contra Costa, in a press release from the One Contra Costa Coalition. Deborah Ballinger, interim executive director of United Latino Voices, shared her support for the county’s healthcare expansion and highlighted the contributions of immigrants.

“Immigrants are an important part of this county’s economic base. They pay sales and other taxes but can’t access the resources they need to achieve equivalent health outcomes,” said Ballinger. “We need to rise above this extractive relationship with our undocumented residents where we take from the labor but don’t provide them with access to basic services.”

There are an estimated 8,000 DACA recipients in Contra Costa, and according to the Center for American Progress, DACA recipients in California contribute $2.1 billion in federal taxes and $1 billion in state and local taxes.

Contra Costa County residents will be able to apply for the county’s health care coverage on the health department’s website: https://www.cchealth.org/get-care/ for-people-without-health-coverage. Applications are expected to open in early May. •

PHOTO BY TYCHO ATSMA ON UNSPLASH