Vol. 50 No. 13
July 18, 2019 - July 24, 2019
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Trump Levels Racist Attack on Congresswomen of Color in Latest Social Media Screed
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Wesson Seeks to Ban Private Prisons within City By Wave Wire Services
By Lauren Victory Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor
President Donald Trump went on a racist screed on Twitter and attacked Democratic congresswomen of color and their ancestry. The 45th President, who succeeded the first African American President of the United States, Barack Obama, has often attacked Black female elected officials, such as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Black athletes, immigrants, and other women of color. As is his general habit, Trump lies in his communications and brands places where people of color reside as dangerous. President Trump has a long history of racism as does his late father, Fred Trump. Fred Trump was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally in Queens, New York on May 30, 1927 when he was 21. Their company, Trump Properties, was sued by the Justice Department for housing discrimination against Blacks in 1973. On May 1, 1989, Donald Trump took out ads in several of
New York’s major newspapers demanding that the Central Park Five be given the death penalty. Even though the five have been exonerated, Trump has never admitted he was wrong or apologized. A hint of Trump’s racist views now on international display in The White House, was seen in 1989 as Trump linked the Central Park Five case to an overall decline in society. “At what point did we cross the line from the fine and noble pursuit of genuine civil liberties to the reckless and dangerously permissive atmosphere which allows criminals of every age to beat and rape a helpless woman and laugh at her family’s anguish? And why do they laugh? The laugh because they know that soon, very soon, they will be returned to the street to rape and maim and kill once again,” Trump said in a 1989 interview. On July 14, 2019, Trump wrote,
“So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……” read one communication on Twitter the morning of July 14. Consistent with his racist attacks and communications both verbal and on social media, President Trump attacked three Congresswomen of color who have gained national prominence as they oppose Trump’s policies: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). Trump implied in a series of consecutive messages on Twitter on July 14 that the Congresswomen weren’t born in the United States and added, “they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested
places from which they came.” Rep. Illan was born in Somalia and her family arrived in New York on 1992 and secured asylum in the U.S. in 1995. Rep. OcasioCortez was born in the Bronx, New York and Rep. Pressley was born in Chicago, Ill. Another Congresswoman Trump has attacked before, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), was born in Detroit, Michigan. Though Trump did not name who specifically he was referring to, the context of his communication on Twitter was clear to political observers. Earlier in July, Trump referenced the three women. All three, as well as many other members, have been outspoken about Trump’s immigration policies. The conditions of detention facilities at the Mexican border came into stark light after Vice President Pence visited a center on June 12. Video from the visit showed a large group of Mexican men grouped in a fenced in enclosure with no cots, food and few signs of running water or other basic needs. Trump’s direct messages or racism and xenophobia to his base have increased as the 2020 presidential campaign gets fully underway. The Iowa Caucuses are 203 days away as of July 14. Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke
By Tanu Henry | California Black Media The CSA says it wants Californians of all backgrounds who have a history of civic engagement to apply in an effort to make sure the group selected is a close reflection of the state’s general population in terms of region, county, income, age, race, ethnicity and other profile information. “We are thrilled about the number of applications submitted since the application period opened on June 10,” said Elaine M. Howle, California State Auditor. “But the work is not done yet. We want to make sure that all Californians are represented in the initial application pool. That means we need even more of the State’s talented and diverse citizens to take up this once in a decade opportunity and apply by August 9.” The office of the CSA is an independent agency that neither reports to the governor’s office nor the state legislature. Most of the work, drawing the lines of the state’s electoral districts, will be completed in the first year of the commission’s tenure from August 2020 to August 2021, says Margarita Fernandez, Chief of public affairs for the CSA.
“After that, the commission may meet regularly or regroup if there is a lawsuit against the map,” she added. Every 10 years, California appoints a new commission after the U.S. Census. It is tasked with mapping or re-drawing the state’s electoral lines based on geographic and other data changes in the state population over the decade between census counts. In 2008, California voters approved the commission through a constitutional amendment called The Voters First Act or Proposition 11 that handed the power of drawing electoral maps over to the hands of citizens. The policy was set up to avoid the political influence of government officials or special interest groups on the redistricting process. Before the passage of Proposition 11, the state legislature was responsible for drawing its own electoral districts. “The politicians were choosing their districts instead of the districts choosing their politicians,” said Mario Blanco, a member of the outgoing 2010 commission, detailing how the former process of redistricting
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson started an effort June 29 to prohibit private prisons from being constructed and operating within the city. Wesson’s proposal would zone the city in such a way that it would effectively ban private detention centers. “Profiting off of locking people up will not fly in Los Angeles,” Wesson said in a statement. “We call on every city and county to join us in preventing this kind of activity from operating within its borders.” Wesson said he started the effort because of recent reports that young children, who had been separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, were detained in overcrowded areas and kept without basic necessities. Wesson said private prisons sign contracts with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement worth millions of dollars every year and carry “horrific records regarding human rights and living conditions for detained immigrants.” The proposal was seconded by Councilmen Marqueece HarrisDawson and Gil Cedillo as well as Councilwoman Nury Martinez. The motion by Wesson is scheduled to be discussed by the full council July 3.
The United States incarcerates more people in a year than any other country in the world, and in recent years private prisons have taken on a greater share of the prisoner population, Wesson said, adding “The industry was started at the state level during the height of the war on drugs as governments failed to keep up their capacity with the rising inmate populations.” Wesson said private detention centers are not subject to the same oversight and scrutiny as public prisons. He cited a U.S. Department of Justice study that found in 2016 that federally contracted private prisons had a significantly higher number of violations per inmate than public prisons. The proposal also comes after a number of notable politicians pledged to curtail private prisons. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, DMassachusetts, a presidential candidate, said last week that she would try to ban private prison operations nationally if she’s elected. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in February also entertained the idea of reeling in the state’s private prison industry. “Profiting off of locking people up will not fly in Los Angeles.” This article originally appeared the Wave Newspapers.
San Bernardino County Preschool Services Department Administration
Volunteers Needed SB County News
California’s 2020 Redistricting Commission Is Accepting Applications: Only 253 African Americans Have Applied Every 10 years, Californians have the opportunity to participate in a major political project as part of a special 14member, state-appointed commission. The citizens of California, through the California State Auditor (CSA) office, sets up the commission and tasks it with drawing the 120 legislative districts for the state’s U.S. Congress, Assembly and Senate elections. The appointees are also responsible for establishing the boundaries of four more maps for the California Board of Equalization, an agency that represents taxpayer interests and standardizes county-by-county tax assessments across the state. As of Sunday this week, a total of about 4,226 Californians had applied for a position on the California Redistricting Commission, which will convene next year and last through 2030. Of that number, about 6 percent - or approximately 253 applicants - are African Americans. On the website of the CSA, which guides the work of the commission, there are dailyupdating charts and graphs that capture the ethnicity and other demographic information of the people who have applied so far.
Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson
before prop 11 was vulnerable to gerrymandering. Then, in 2011, California voters approved Proposition 20, an initiative that expanded the responsibilities of the commission to drawing California’s U.S. Congressional districts as well. The 2020 Commission will include five Democrats, five Republicans, and four who are either registered without, or “independent” of, any political party,” said Fernandez. To qualify, an applicant must be a registered voter who has been a member of the same political party or no political party since July, 1 2015. He or she must have also voted in three statewide general elections. The CSA also employs other criteria to narrow down the pool of applicants. Last year, a total of 30,000 Californians applied to be on the commission. According to Fernandez, after the application process closes, the CSA narrows down the list of candidates based on a number of eligibility requirements that are spelled out by law. The names that make the first cut, are given a supplemental application to (continued on page 3)
San Bernardino County Preschool Services Department (PSD) is accepting applications from individuals interested in serving as Community Representatives on the Head Start Policy Council for the 201920 program year. Volunteer service in this role is limited to three oneyear terms. The Policy Council is a part of the formal structure of shared decision-making in the federal Head Start/Early Head Start Child Development Program serving San Bernardino County. Meetings are held during the day, on the 3rd Monday of each month (or on the 3rd Tuesday if the 3rd Monday is a holiday), noting that conference call meetings may be scheduled as needed. According to the Federal Head Start Act, membership of the Policy Council must consist of parents of currently enrolled children, and community representatives drawn from former Head Start
parents, the private community, civic and professional organizations, and others who are familiar with resources and services to low-income preschool age children and families. The application can be found at http://hs.sbcounty.gov/psd, https://www.facebook.com/ SBCPSD/, and https:// twitter.com/sbcpsd. Please submit completed applications no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, August 16, 2019 to: SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY PRESCHOOL SERVICES DEPARTMENT 662 SOUTH TIPPECANOE AVE. SAN BERNARDINO, CA 924150630 ATTN: Tina Pham, Supervising Program Specialist Completed applications and requests for further information may be emailed to Tina.Pham@psd.sbcounty.gov
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