Community Leaders Honored for Making Change Happen at the Grassroots

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By Peter

Black Voters Matter Issues Statement On the Expulsion of Black Tennessee Lawmakers for Advocating for Gun Control

Above: All of Us or None Co-founder Dorsey Nunn, Brilliant Corners Chief Program Officer Chris Contreras, and One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman. The three are among six winners of the James Irvine Foundation 2023 Leadership Awards.

They imagined a world that didn’t exist yet and went about building it.

That was the common theme from three community organizers whose work proves that change really can happen through grassroots efforts, despite gridlocked legislatures, polarized politics and economic uncertainty.

The three organizers, among six who recently received the James Irvine Foundation 2023 Leadership Awards, spoke on Ethnic Media Services’ weekly national news briefing last week.

Criminal justice reform

Dorsey Nunn runs Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and co-founded a parallel non-profit, All of Us or None. A criminal justice reformer who set up a small nonprofit for people – like himself – who are or were formerly incarcerated to fight for prisoner rights, Nunn operates a staff of 29 people, including four attorneys, as well as a network of chapters across the US.

His organization spearheaded the “Ban the Box” campaign that has stopped questions about conviction history from public employment applications in 50 cities in 35 states.

“We are building a powerful political movement to win full restoration of our human and civil rights,” Nunn said. Honest conversations about discrimination need to be about why it doesn’t stop once someone leaves prison. “When is my penalty up?” Nunn asked. “People can only see us as a liability; they have yet to see us as an asset. At what point can we actually demonstrate that you can’t lock up 2 million people without locking up brilliance, without throwing away a lot of people?”

Nunn added that the transformation in perception has to occur among people who are themselves incarcerated.

“The greatest victory for me is when formerly incarcerated people show up and recognize that they got something to actually do to change not only their life, but to change how society functions.

“I’m a father, a grandfather and a great grandfather. At this point none of my kids have been to prison, and I interrupted that process because I was at home to take care of them,” he said.

Improving conditions for service workers continued on page 8

Saru Jayaraman is the President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley. She started a national movement of restaurant workers, employers, and consumers after 9-11.

Jayaraman was a young lawyer in 2001 when she started organizing workers who lost their jobs and the families of the victims from Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center Tower.

Edwige Robinson, SVP at T-Mobile Joins

Forbes Technology Council

By BlackPressUSA

Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown, Co-Founders of Black Voters Matter and April EnglandAlbright, National Legal Director of Black Voters Matter issue the following statement on the expulsion of Black Tennessee lawmakers

The recent expulsion of Tennessee Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for protesting gun control within the state, after the recent murder of elementary students and school staff during the recent school shooting, is racist, wrong and reminiscent of the removal of Black elected officials following the Reconstruction era. This punitive measure not only silences the voices of elected representatives, but also deprives the predominantly Black voters in those legislative districts of their right to be heard on crucial issues affecting their lives.

We applaud the community members who protested at the legislature in order to demand action on gun violence, and we commend Reps. Jones, Pearson and Johnson for supporting such civil disobedience. Their actions are in the same spirit of making “good trouble” that John Lewis encouraged us all to follow. For Republican lawmakers to call these actions a “temper tantrum” and “insurrection”, while they have simultaneously complemented and defended January 6 terrorists whose actions actually led to multiple deaths, is an affront to the countless victims whose lives have been tragically cut short as a result of gun violence.

Black Voters Matter joins the people of Tennessee, led by determined youth, in demanding that the Tennessee legislature spend less time trying to “season” and “break in” young Black leaders and spend more time passing laws that will safeguard our communities from the ongoing crisis of gun violence. In the meantime, we are committed to assisting the voters in these districts to return Reps. Jones and Pearson to the rightful positions.

Black Voters Matter, a 501c4, and Capacity Building Institute, a 501c3, are dedicated to expanding Black voter engagement and increasing progressive power through movement-building and engagement. Working with grassroots organizations, specifically in key states in the South, BVM seeks to increase voter registration and turnout, advocate for policies to expand voting rights/access, and help develop infrastructure where little or none exists to support a power-building movement that keeps Black voters and their issues at the forefront of our election process. For more information, please visit https:// www.blackvotersmatterfund. org/.

$322 billion bank failures become a different ‘March Madness’

Lawmakers seek answers and solutions to losses

By Charlene Crowell

April 6, 2023-In 2023, “March Madness” took on a new meaning. Traditionally known as the nation’s premier college basketball competition, this year that moniker could also describe the madness that sprang from the closure of two banks with combined assets of $322 billion that affected consumers and small businesses in over 15 states.

Edwige Robinson, Senior Vice President of Network Engineering & Operations and Transformation of the Central Region at T-Mobile US

Forbes Technology Council is an Invitation-Only Community for World-Class CIOs, CTOs and Technology Executives. Chicago, IL — Edwige Robinson, Senior Vice President of Network Engineering & Operations and Transformation of the Central Region at T-Mobile US has joined the Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives. She is responsible for 23 states with a P&L of several billion dollars, leading more than 5,000 employees and contractors who design, build, and maintain a cutting-edge 5G Network. She works across the business to create strategy that enables sustainable growth, closes the digital divide and supports emerging AI products and technologies. She was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of her experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.

“We are honored to welcome Edwige into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Technology Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”

As an accepted member of the Council, she will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum. Edwige will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share her expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts.

“I am honored to join this community of accomplished technology executives to exchange ideas that help to change our world,” Edwige Robinson, SVP of Network Engineering & Operations and Transformation. “The Forbes brand has always stood for excellence and I have excited to lend my expertise to those who look to it help then on their career journey.”

For more information about Forbes Technology Council, visit forbestechcouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), established in 1983, grew its operations to 15 states by 1996 -- from California to New York, north to Washington state to as far south as Texas and Florida.

In December 2022, its assets totaled $212 billion and the bank employed over 8,500 people.

But on March 8 in an attempt to improve its own liquidity, SVB instead incurred a $1.8 billion loss. The next business day, a run of bank withdrawals totaled $40 billion. And on March 10, SVB was forced to close and became the second-largest bank failure since Washington Mutual in 2008.

Similarly, Signature Bank, founded in 2001 as a commercial bank headquartered in New York City, grappled with its own problems that also led to a March closure. Signature Bank had 40 branches and 1,800 employees throughout the New York metropolitan area, Connecticut, North Carolina, California and Nevada, in addition to its online banking services. In December 2022, the bank had assets of $110.4 billion and total deposits of $88.6 billion.

Only days after SVB’s closure, Signature, with heavy concentrations of investments in private equity ($28 billion in loans) and commercial businesses like cryptocurrency, experienced its own $10 billion run on deposits. With an estimated 90 percent of its deposits uninsured, according to Barron’s, Signature’s stock dropped 50 percent. On March 12, it was forced to close, and

$322 billion bank failures become a different ‘March Madness’ ...continued the Community Reinvestment Act and loans made to people of color.”

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, chair of his chamber’s Banking Committee, shared similar concerns.

“In less than a day, Silicon Valley Bank customers pulled $42 billion out of the bank –fueled by venture capitalists and their social media accounts,” said Sen. Brown. “They created the largest and fastest bank run in history. In the following days, Signature Bank lost $17.8 billion.”

After noting that Silicon Valley Bank’s executive pay was tied to profits and the bank operated without a risk officer for more than a year, Chairman Brown pointed the proverbial financial finger at the bank executives who took on high risk that fed their collective greed.

“Wealthy elites do anything to make a quick profit and pocket the rewards. And when their risky behavior leads to catastrophic failures, they turn to the government asking for help, expecting workers and taxpayers to pay the price.”

Michael Barr, who testified before Senate Banking on March 28, testified on behalf of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors, as its vice chair for supervision. Calling for transparency and full accountability with recent bank failures, Barr announced an investigative report on supervisory assessments and exam materials would be made public by May 1.

“SVB failed because the bank’s management did not effectively manage its interest rate and liquidity risk, and the bank then suffered a devastating and unexpected run by its uninsured depositors in a period of less than 24 hours,” testified Barr. “SVB’s failure demands a thorough review of what happened, including the Federal Reserve’s oversight of the bank.”

Speaking before the National Association for Business Economics on March 30, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in on the recent closures:

“When the President and I took office in January 2021, we inherited a financial stability apparatus at Treasury that had been decimated,” said Yellen. “Over the past two years, I have made it a top priority to rebuild the financial stability infrastructure at Treasury.”

“Our prosperity depends on the work to safeguard financial stability before a crisis occurs –just as the implementation of a strong fire code can prevent a fire from breaking out,” concluded Yellen.

Consumers and small businesses affected by these closures are urged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to remain watchful of scams and frauds. These scams often begin by seeking personal information while posing as representatives from Signature Bank, Signature Bridge Bank, N.A., or the FDIC.

More related information is available online: http://www. fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/ bank-failures/failed-bank-list/. A 24-hour toll-free call center is also available by dialing: 1-866744-5463.

California Sues Huntington Beach for Violating State Housing Element Law

The state today filed a motion to amend its March 8 housing lawsuit against Huntington Beach

Since California filed its lawsuit, the City of Huntington Beach rescinded its illegal ban on SB 9 and ADU applications but refused to adopt a housing element in violation of state law, jeopardizing affordable housing opportunities for its residents

SACRAMENTO —

became the third-largest bank failure in the nation since 2008.

Many might wonder how costly bank failures could occur when 2008’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was created to prevent such financial calamities.

Congressional leaders want answers to that question.

“[T]hese events are a wakeup call,” said Maxine Waters, a California Congresswoman and Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee. “We must uncover how management, regulatory, and supervisory failures contributed to these events and explore solutions to strengthen the safety and soundness of our banks. Small business owners should not be expected to serve as a financial regulator when paying their employees, and community banks and minority depository institutions should not have to pay for the failures of bank mismanagement at SVB or Signature Bank.”

Rep. Waters also decried efforts to shift blame for the collapse from bank management and panicked investors onto socalled “woke” capitalism, as signified by the presence of one person of color on the board of directors of Silicon Valley Bank. “Silicon Valley Bank collapsed because of management failures and possible regulatory weaknesses – not because there was one Black man on the board,” said Rep. Waters. “We saw this same racist playbook during the 2008 financial crisis when some Republicans blamed

Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) today filed a motion to amend the state’s lawsuit against Huntington Beach in order to hold the City accountable for violating the state Housing Element Law. California originally filed the lawsuit on March 8, arguing that the city’s ban on the processing of SB 9 and Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) applications violated state housing laws and must be struck down. As a result of the state’s lawsuit, the Huntington Beach City Council reversed course and voted on March 21 to resume processing SB 9 and ADU project applications.

However, at a meeting on April 4, the City Council once again violated state housing law by failing to adopt a housing element that is 16 months overdue – a decision that jeopardizes critical affordable housing opportunities for Huntington Beach residents.

Today, the state submitted an amended complaint in People of California v. City of Huntington Beach, arguing that the city is in violation of the state Housing Element Law, and seeking both penalties and injunctive relief. The state also intends to seek temporary relief against the city as authorized by statute, including, among other things, the suspension of the city’s permitting authority and mandating the approval of certain residential projects until the city comes into compliance with the law. Although the state is no longer seeking a preliminary injunction due to the city’s about-face on SB 9 and ADU applications, the amended complaint does also seek a declaration from the court that the city’s previous ban on SB 9 and ADU applications was unlawful and may not be reinstated.

“Huntington Beach continues to fail its residents,” said Governor Newsom. “Every city and county needs to do their part to bring down the high housing and rent costs that are impacting families across this state. California will continue taking every step necessary to ensure everyone is building their fair share of housing and not flouting state housing laws at the expense of the community.”

“California is in the midst of a housing crisis, and time and time again, Huntington Beach has demonstrated they are part of the problem by defiantly refusing every opportunity to provide essential housing for its own residents,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The City’s refusal last week to adopt a housing element in accordance with state law is just the latest in a string of willfully illegal actions by the city – decisions that worsen our housing crisis and harm taxpayers and Huntington Beach residents. We won’t stand idly by as Huntington Beach continues to flagrantly violate state housing laws designed to bring crucial affordable housing opportunities to our communities. We’ll use every legal tool available to hold the city accountable and enforce state housing laws.”

“More housing is the path to ending and reducing