By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Housing, energy, food and gas are four essential household expenses, and their rising costs are forcing residents—especially lower-income households—to make difficult trade-offs, Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton) said at a conference on affordability last week in Sacramento.

Ransom, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), noted a shift in consumer behavior, stating, “Before people used to choose between things that they wanted and things that they needed.”

“Now, what we’re hearing from constituents is they are prioritizing their needs differently,” she said. “Because of the affordability crisis, it’s no longer about choosing between other needs. Our constituents are now saying ‘what needs to be prioritized?’ Gas and food are at the top of the list.”

Ransom made the comments about affordability at Capitol Weekly’s informational conference titled “Affordability: The Cost of Living in California,” which was held on April 30 at the University of California’s Student and Policy Center.

Co-hosted with the University of California Student and Policy Center, the political conversations focused on identifying policy solutions to the state’s extremely high prices for energy, food, and essentials.

The keynote speakers at the conference were former Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, and Mike Madrid, a political strategist, author, and senior fellow at UC Irvine.

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Conversations about affordability are taking on greater urgency as the election season kicks in, speakers said.

According to an April 2024 report by the Greenlining Institute, low-income Black Californians are struggling with affordability due to a combination of historical systemic barriers and modern economic pressures. The Greenlining Institute is a California-based policy, research, and advocacy nonprofit founded in 1993 to fight systemic racism and economic injustice.

Black households in California experience the highest levels of rent burden; approximately 65% of Black renters, according to the Greenlining report. Historical “redlining” and ongoing discrimination have restricted homeownership. Black families also pay 43% more for energy than White households, partly because they are more likely to live in older, less energy-efficient rentals.

In addition, roughly 1 in 3 Black adults (36.5%) reported household food insecurity in late 2025, more than double the rate for White adults. This is often exacerbated by “food deserts” in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

In March, Assembly Minority Leader Heath Flora (R-Ripon) expressed concerns about affordability in California, describing it as a crisis where families are being “pushed to the edge.”

“Californians should not have to choose between putting food on the table or filling up their car,” Flora stated. “We need to cut costs now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. Now.”

Cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding are being driven by the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which is reducing federal spending by approximately $187 billion through 2034.

Those reductions are putting more pressure on the state to help, Ransom said. According to the AAA Gas Prices website, as of May 8, California’s gasoline prices averaged over $6 per gallon in some areas, with various locations experiencing spikes of $7 to $8 per gallon. In California, fuel prices are driven by refinery maintenance and market volatility, while high food prices are linked to rising transportation costs, experts say.

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By Tamara Shiloh  

When we talk about breaking barriers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the name Mary Jackson deserves a place at the top of the list.

Jackson was born in 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, a place that would later become central to her groundbreaking work. From an early age, she showed a strong aptitude for math and science—subjects that, at the time, were not widely encouraged for African American women. But Jackson was not one to be limited by expectations. She earned degrees in mathematics and physical science from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), setting the foundation for a career that would change history.

Before joining NASA, Jackson worked as a teacher and later as a research mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that eventually became NASA. Like many African American women of her time, she began her career as a “human computer,” performing complex calculations by hand. It was in this environment that she worked alongside brilliant minds like Katherine Johnson, forming part of a powerful group of African American women whose calculations helped launch America into space.

Jackson’s life took a significant turn when she was offered the opportunity to work in a wind tunnel, a facility used to test the effects of air moving over aircraft structures. It was here that her passion for engineering truly took flight. However, there was a challenge: to become an engineer, she needed to take advanced courses that were only offered at a segregated high school.

Jackson did something truly remarkable. She petitioned the city of Hampton for permission to attend those classes. She didn’t accept “no” as an answer. And she won.

In 1958, Jackson became NASA’s first African American female engineer.

But Jackson’s impact didn’t stop there.

Later in her career, she chose to step away from her engineering position—not because she couldn’t continue, but because she wanted to make a difference. She moved into roles focused on equal opportunity, working to ensure that women and minorities had access to the same opportunities she fought so hard to get.

Jackson’s story gained wider recognition through the book and film Hidden Figures, which highlighted the contributions of African American women at NASA. But long before the spotlight found her, Jackson was doing the work—quietly, persistently, and brilliantly.

Jackson retired from Langley in 1985. Among her many honors were an Apollo Group Achievement Award and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the chair of one of the center’s annual United Way campaigns and a member of the National Technical Association (the oldest African American technical organization in the United States).

She and her husband Levi had an open-door policy for young Langley recruits trying to gain their footing in a new town and a new career. A 1976 Langley Researcher profile might have done the best job capturing Mary’s spirit and character, calling her a “gentlelady, wife and mother, humanitarian and scientist.”

For Jackson, science and service went hand in hand.

She died on Feb. 11, 2005, at age 83, at a convalescent home in Hampton, Virginia.

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By Joe Kocurek
California Black Media

Even though public attitudes have shifted, advocates say the fight for LGBTQ rights in California remains far from over — a reality Equality California confronts through outreach, policy advocacy and community support.

“I was at Sacramento Pride,” said Erin Arendse, program director for Equality California. “We were setting up and an individual was yelling horrific homophobic slurs at everybody.”

Equality California’s outreach at events like Pride includes connecting community members to resources such as CA vs Hate, a statewide, non-emergency hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal created to help counter a more than 50% increase in reported hate crimes in California between 2020 and 2024.

Run by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and 211-in partnership with community-based organizations—the hotline and online resource offer confidential, anonymous reporting that is separate from law enforcement and grounded in a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach.

Arendse says after the incident she decided to take her own advice.

EQCA at the Los Angeles LGBT pride parade in 2011. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

“We were literally doing that outreach there,” she said. “So, I pulled CA vs Hate on my phone to report the incident.”

New data from CRD underscores the growing reliance on the program. CA vs Hate received nearly 1,000 reports of hate from across 46 counties in 2025 and has responded to more than 6,800 requests for help since launching in May 2023.

“Everyone deserves support after experiencing hate,” said Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “Through CA vs Hate, Californians have a trusted place they can turn to, and thousands of people have already reached out. From mental health counseling to legal assistance, the hotline is a nation-leading example of how we can drive real impact when we work together with our local partners.”

Californians protesting Prop 8, a 2008 ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriages in the state. EQCA would be instrumental in passing Proposition 3 in 2024, which would ensure same-sex couples retained the right to marry. Credit: ID 7261410 © Karin Hildebrand Lau | Dreamstime.com

According to the 2024 California Health Interview Survey from UCLA, nearly 3.1 million Californians ages 12 and over experienced hate acts in the previous year, with 31% reporting unmet support needs. Anonymous reports, including those like Arendse’s, help strengthen data collection and improve prevention and response strategies.

“People have expressed a feeling of empowerment,” she said. “It’s important to be able to say that something happened and to have that recorded and validated.”

Equality California’s work builds on decades of advocacy. In the early 2000s, the organization helped push the marriage equality debate forward by sponsoring legislation and advancing legal protections for same-sex couples, efforts that helped shift public opinion despite initial legislative setbacks.

EQCA Instagram Page (@EQCA) promoting CA vs Hate Hotline Photo courtesy of EQCA/

The group has since backed a range of policies, including expanding domestic partnership rights, protecting transgender Californians, improving support for older LGBTQ+ residents, and recognizing LGBTQ+ contributions to the state.

After voters approved Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage, Equality California led opposition efforts and legal challenges. The issue was ultimately resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

Still, advocates say progress has not been linear.

The 2016 election ushered in a resurgence of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, prompting Equality California to open a Washington, D.C. office in 2017 to counter federal policy threats. At the local level, tensions have also surfaced.

“A lot of school board meetings were totally overrun by anti-LGBTQ activists and specifically anti-trans organizers who would just say some of the most horrific things,” Arendse said. “A lot of school board trustees just simply were not prepared to deal with that level of vitriol in a school board meeting.”

Campaign: EQCA multi-lingual public outreach and education efforts are critical to advancing social justice and creating safer communities for LGBTQ people. Photo courtesy of EQCA

In response, Equality California, which has received support from  California’s Stop the Hate Program, has worked with school districts to manage disruptions and protect students, while expanding education and training efforts. The organization has trained more than 5,000 health and human service providers on inclusivity and cultural competency.

Matt Pennon, who has overseen diversity, equity and inclusion programs at both the County and City of San Luis Obispo, said those trainings have had a measurable impact.

“The resounding feedback was ‘Wow, I actually did get something from this,’” Pennon said.

“Even the folks that maybe don’t fully agree said they developed a better sense of respect,” he added. “This is about really highlighting the differences between all of us as humans and how those differences are actually strengths.”

More recently, Equality California has raised concerns about federal policy shifts affecting transgender healthcare access.

“We’re talking access to mental health supports and basic healthcare that everybody deserves that is being blocked just because people are trans or non-binary,” Arendse said.

At the same time, advocates are revisiting past victories to ensure they are protected. After the fall of Roe v. Wade, Equality California moved to safeguard marriage equality at the state level.

“When Roe fell, we knew we had to codify these things into law, because we can’t just rely on a Supreme Court case to protect our rights,” Arendse said.

The organization sponsored a constitutional amendment to enshrine marriage equality into California law. Proposition 3 passed in 2024 with more than 62% voter support.

For Equality California, the arc of progress requires constant attention.

“Fortunately, we have that great protection in place now,” Arendse said. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again, but here we are.”

Get Support After Hate:

California vs Hate is a non-emergency, multilingual hotline and online portal offering confidential support for hate crimes and incidents. Victims and witnesses can get help anonymously by calling 833-8-NO-HATE (833-866-4283), Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. PT, or online at any time. Anonymous. Confidential. No Police. No ICE.

This story was produced in partnership with CA vs Hate. Join them for the first-ever CA Civil Rights Summit on May 11, 2026. More information at www.cavshate.org/summit.

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