THE SAN BERNARDINO
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AMERICAN
“A Man In Debt is So Far A Slave” -Emerson
NEWSPAPER A Community Newspaper Serving San Bernardino, Riverside & Los Angeles Counties Volume 52 No. 2
April 29, 2021- May 5, 2021
Mailing: P.O. Box 837, Victorville, CA 92393
Office: (909) 889-7677
Email: Mary @Sb-American.com
Website: www.SB-American.com
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 with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Transnational Solidarity: Linking Local Issues and Global Problems BlackPressUSA News
In both the Playbook and the focused work on tax justice, Countess says, the Project aims to provide information and analysis that is both thoughtful and actionable. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) WASHINGTON, DC — As the United States confronts the multitude of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a bright spotlight has been placed on the already gaping and growing inequalities far beyond the healthcare system, including housing, education, and the administration of justice. However, just like the virus, structural inequalities that disadvantage people by race, class, gender, or birthplace are not new or uniquely American problems. According to the recently published essay, the solution requires an all-inclusive approach, “Confronting Global Apartheid Demands Global Solidarity.” “In meeting this moment, we can take inspiration and guidance from the collective victories of earlier generations,” writes Imani Countess and William Minter, of the US-Africa Bridge Building Project, a Washington DC-based nonprofit geared toward fostering transnational solidarity primarily
around economic justice. “We must take seriously the truth that none of us are free until all of us are free.” The essay and the Project’s mission draw on the work of a diverse cadre of activists and movement— domestic and international—that successfully bridged divisions by race, class, gender and national borders by first focusing on justice for all. “The most important principle of transnational solidarity is recognizing common humanity,” says Countess, the Project’s founder and director. While that sounds simple, she says, it requires dispensing with the belief that our struggles in the US are wholly unique, when in fact, communities all around the world are confronting the same or similar issues. “We’re not trying to persuade folks in Atlanta or Minneapolis to shift their gaze to look at how they can influence US national policy around a country in Africa. Rather, I’m saying to
folks in Los Angeles or Atlanta, of course your economic inequality struggles have local dimensions. But they reflect global problems that require an internationalist perspective, so let’s share information and strategies.” Countess said the Project, which she launched in January, is focused on strengthening existing ties and making new links to forge transnational alliances between local economic justice activists in the United States and Africa. The Project’s primary issue focus is working to end corruption and tax injustice by linking local struggles and global problems and promoting mutual solidarity between Africans and Americans. Initially, the Project will publish a series of essays as part of a Transnational Solidarity Playbook, exploring transnational topics including racial, environmental, and climate justice, as well as women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and workers’
rights. The series is based on the premise that progressives must increase their “capacity and join forces across national borders, defeat authoritarian regimes and movements based on hate, and find the strength to build a future based on common humanity and justice for all.” The first essay is set against the backdrop of the anti-Apartheid and African liberation movements of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s, culminating in Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and the ushering-in of democracy in South Africa. In both the Playbook and the focused work on tax justice, Countess says, the Project aims to provide information and analysis that is both thoughtful and actionable. The goals include influencing public discourse and contributing to reflection among progressive activists involved in grassroots organizing and policy advocacy.
Sen. Padilla on Reparations: “We Can Walk and Chew Gum” Manny Otiko | California Black Media California’s newest and first Latino Democratic Senator, Alex Padilla, says he supports reparations for Black American descendants of enslaved African people. He made the statement during an online news briefing with members of California’s ethnic press organized by Ethnic Media Services. “It’s the morally right thing to do,” said Padilla. “For me, it’s not a difficult conversation. Padilla said reparations would go a long way to “address institutional injustices.” For nearly two centuries now,
Black American descendants of enslaved Africans have been making the case to an unbudging U.S. government for reparations.
Advocates say payments would compensate for centuries of unpaid labor and an opportunity for the federal government to make
good on its promise to provide 40 acres and a mule to each formerly enslaved Black person after the Civil War. A shift in the national consciousness last year -- some attribute to organizing around Black economic and political empowerment led in part by the American Descendants of Slaves Movement and the national reckoning on race that began last summer after the killing of George Floyd -- has ushered in a political environment in the United States where many legislators are much continued in next 2 columns
Sen. Padilla on Reparations: “We Can Walk and Chew Gum”...continued more open than they have been in the past to reparations. “We have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Padilla said. “We should be able to negotiate and advance and infrastructure package, and immigration reform and protect the rights of voters, and work on environmental protection, and address historical injustices like this.” Earlier this month, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee voted to approve forming a committee to study the idea of providing reparations to African Americans. Padilla is a veteran politician who's worked his way up the political ladder, previously serving as a Los Angeles city councilman, as a state senator and as secretary of State before he was nominated in January to replace outgoing Sen. Kamala Harris. Padilla said that he has been senator for less than 100 days, but he’s packed a lot into that short period. During his first couple of months, he participated in President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, and
voted to approve the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 intended to help Americans devastated economically by the coronavirus pandemic. In the Senate, he is pushing and supporting a number of bills on a range of issues, including proposals focused on immigration reform (providing a pathway to citizenship for essential workers) and hate crimes against Asian Americans. Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, grew up in the Pacoima, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. His father worked for 40 years as a short-order cook and his late mother cleaned houses. Both parents were local activists who fought against violence in their community. Padilla said they were the inspiration for his political career. “Through their hard work, we had a modest upbringing to put it mildly,” said Padilla. “We grew up with the values of service to others, and hard work, but we also saw our parents get very involved in the community.”
High Desert Residents Remember Former Mayor of Adelanto, Charley B. Glasper Obituary News
Charley B. Glasper Born: April 28, 1936 Died: April 22,2021 Charley B. Glasper, took up residence in Victorville, CA in December 1982 and retired from the Air Force in November 1983. After the passing of his former wife, Daisy M. Glasper in November 1997, he moved to the City of Adelanto. He married Evelyn Malcom in November 1999. Charley was a retired Military and Civil Servant. He was last employed as a Federal Civil Service Employee with the U.S. Army Airworthiness Flight Test Directorate at Edwards AFB, California from February 21, 1984 to December 20, 1996. During this period, he achieved the position of Chief of the Supply and Maintenance Division and retired as a Grade WS-17. On November 4, 2004, he was elected to the City Council for the City of Adelanto, CA. for a four-year term. After the 2006 election, he was appointed the Mayor Pro Tem for the City. In the November 2008 election, he was elected Mayor for the City of Adelanto for a two-
year term. In 2014 Election he was elected to another four-year term to the Adelanto City Council. Charley was active in the Community. He was the Victor Valley District and Technical Coordinator for the AARP/TAXAIDE Income Tax Program and Lead volunteer for preparing Electronic Tax returns in the Victor Valley High Desert areas for senior citizens and low-income families. In 2006 he was elected President of the Victor Valley NAACP Branch 1082 for two years. An usher, and member of the volunteer money counting team at the Gate Church of the High Desert in Victorville. A member of the AMVETS Post 20, VFW Post 9410, and AMERICAN LEGION Post 229 located in Adelanto, CA. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Adelanto Community Resource Center; 2010 Chairperson of the Air Quality Board of the Mojave District; Board Member of the continued on page 3