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Delta Sigma Theta Prepares Young Women to Be “Pearls of Perfection”

Published

12 years ago

May 8, 2014

One by one, nearly a dozen 16- and 17-year-old girls stood at the podium to declare how wonderful their mothers are and to express how their Moms have helped them blossom into smart, powerful young ladies.

“I simply love my Mom’s courage,” said Klarc Abrams, a 16-year-old junior at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley before she introduced her mother Gina. “I know with this courage that she’s instilled that I can do anything.”

As the young ladies spoke, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

“It is important that you look at your mothers’ strength,” said Darrylyn Z. Swift, president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s Contra Costa Alumnae Chapter told the teens during a Mother-Daughter Tea event on May 4. “Your mothers have lived the lives that you’re trying to live. Learn from their pearls of wisdom.”

Swift’s reference to pearls was intentional because the 12 girls are being polished, poised and prepared to become “Pearls of Perfection” through their participation in the sorority’s debutante program.

Nearly 100 women and young ladies in floral attire with hats, and some sporting pastel gloves, attended the Mother-Daughter Tea at the Crowne Plaza in Concord.

It was the first public speaking event for the young ladies as part of their multi-faceted training program on the road to becoming refined young ladies. The girls represent a cross-section of the Bay Area.

They are all high school juniors. Some are athletic, some are shy, others are the life of the party. Some travel from as far as Stockton and Vacaville to participate in the monthly workshops and events.

“We realize that these young ladies are the future – future leaders, doctors, lawyers and presidents. And we’re living up to our mission as members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority to both give back to the community and to support the growth and development of these young ladies,” said Swift.

“We also get to touch the lives of young men because we include the 12 debutantes’ escorts in various workshops and events. This is a beautiful learning experience for both our young women and young men. “

The Pearls of Perfection program began in with the goal of giving a chance to young ladies to engage in etiquette and social graces workshops with an additional emphasis on college readiness, Swift said. The program is not all work, the young ladies travel together, they have fun together and they are already forming lifetime bonds.

The yearlong program includes workshops on etiquette, life skills enhancement, college preparation and community involvement. The debutantes have also toured several University of California campuses. They will also participate in a talent and fashion show in September, a Father-Daughter social, and a community service project in December.

The program culminates with a huge Debutante Cotillion in January 2015. Then the program begins again for the 2015-16 season with a new set of debutantes – three of whom are already participating this year as “Ladies in Waiting.”

“We want to continue the program every year so that we can reach as many young people as possible,” Swift said.

For more information about the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Contra Costa Alumnae Chapter’s Debutante and Program and Cotillion and how to apply and participate please “like” the Facebook page – Contra Costa Alumnae Chapter Debutante Program or check the website at www.ccacdebutante.com.

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

4 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

5 days ago

March 1, 2026

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke