By Carla Thomas

Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.

As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling. 

As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.

Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.

Trending

Is the New 2023 Dodge Hornet GT Plus for You? Take A Quick Look and POV Drive

The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.

“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.

That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.

Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard. 

“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group

By Antonio Harvey, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Aug. 22 designed to protect immigration service providers and humanitarian volunteers from targeted harassment, doxing and violence.

Authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), Assembly Bill (AB) 2624, the Privacy for Immigration Support Services Providers Act, establishes an address confidentiality program modeled after California’s Safe at Home program.

“AB 2624 is fundamentally about freedom — the freedom from fear that lets our immigrant service providers do their jobs, and the freedom of the press to do their jobs without ever being conflated with the doxing this bill actually targets,” Bonta stated. “Those two freedoms were never in tension. Right now, our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve.”

Bonta and other proponents of the law say an increase in death threats, online abuse and anti-immigrant vigilante activity has made address confidentiality essential to protecting aid workers.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2027, eligible immigration service providers, employees and volunteers who face documented threats will be able to apply through Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber’s office to use a substitute address.

Trending

The 2024 Lexus TX350 Unbeatable Style Features Performance and Safety

 Doxing has also affected state lawmakers. In August 2024, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, had private information published online without her permission.

“I’m proud that with the signing of this bill, California is rejecting that, even when people try to make us feel that the political cost of supporting immigrant communities is too high,” Bonta stated.

Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) opposed the legislation, calling it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.” Strickland said he is concerned the law violates the First Amendment and could chill free speech, investigative reporting and public accountability.

Shirley is a conservative YouTube content creator, social media influencer and self-described independent journalist. He gained national political attention in late 2025 and 2026 after publishing viral videos alleging widespread fraud in government-funded programs.

After Newsom signed the measure, Strickland argued that it threatens citizens and independent journalists seeking to expose government waste and fraud.

“I spoke out against it earlier this week. I’m concerned it could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism and protected speech. The law allows at least $4,000 in damages for certain violations,” Strickland posted on X the day Newsom signed the bill.

Established in 1998, California’s Safe at Home program protects survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, child abduction and elder or dependent adult abuse. It has since been expanded to cover reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers.

Bonta said AB 2624 extends a similar framework to another group of Californians facing comparable threats.

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, testified before the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee about her experience being doxed.

“It happened to me and happened to a family member. They were looking for me and ended up in my mother’s home,” Salas said. “There are so many of my colleagues where individuals have shown up to their homes, who have been threatened, and this is not just our organization, but many others.”

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

On Aug. 19, a bipartisan coalition of mayors from California’s largest cities gathered at the State Capitol to urge voters to approve Proposition (Prop) 1, an $11.25 billion housing and veterans bond measure on the November ballot.

Also known as the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026, Prop 1 would provide state funding for local affordable housing projects.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said cities need the measure’s support to address California’s housing crisis.

“Without help from the state and this ballot measure, we can’t do our jobs in cities across California. We need this measure to do our jobs,” said McCarty, a former member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC).

“We need Prop 1 for the future of California, addressing the issues of this generation, and housing affordability for all levels of income throughout California,” McCarty added.

The mayors said their jurisdictions lack the substantial subsidies needed to move shovel-ready affordable housing projects forward and help address the state’s homelessness crisis.

The coalition included Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.

The city leaders were joined by Sens. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) and Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), as well as Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). Supporters say the measure would help finance the construction of 40,000 affordable housing units statewide.

“In Fresno, more than 1 of 5 residents live in poverty. That’s nearly twice the state average,” Dyer said. “We need more affordable housing at every income level to include single-and multi-family dwelling units.”

Prop 1 would authorize $11.25 billion in general obligation bonds. Of that amount, $10 billion would support affordable housing and homeownership programs and be repaid from the state’s General Fund.

The measure would allocate $7.2 billion to build, acquire or rehabilitate rental housing through low-interest loans. Another $1.1 billion would support homeownership loan programs for low-and moderate-income households.

Prop 1 would also provide $500 million for housing infrastructure projects; $450 million for farmworker housing grants and loans; $350 million for student housing at University of California and California State University campuses; $200 million in housing grants for Native American tribes; and $200 million for local government pilot programs aimed at lowering housing costs.

An additional $1.25 billion would go to the CalVet Home Loan Program to help veterans purchase homes.

Lee said the measure would provide critical statewide funding to complete much-needed affordable housing and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness, building on a housing bond voters approved in 2018.

However, several Republican lawmakers opposed SB 417, the legislation that placed Prop 1 on the ballot.

Assemblymembers Philip Chen (R-Yorba Linda), Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), Stan Ellis (R-Bakersfield), Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas), Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare), Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita) and David Tangipa (R-Clovis) voted against the measure.

In the Senate, Sens. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) and Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) voted against SB 417.

Supporters argue that Prop 1 would also help address longstanding racial disparities in homeownership.

“It helps working families to become homeowners, and that matters for equity,” Lee said. “Black and Latino homeownership has never recovered from decades of redlining and discriminatory lending. So, if we’re serious about closing the gap, homeownership must be part of that answer.”

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group