#NNPA BlackPress
Black Leaders – State Can Do More to Include Black Firms in Small Biz Support Plans
Most small businesses in California are very small. A whopping 95% of them are companies with less than 50 employees, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Yet, these businesses employ a majority of workers in the state – up to an estimated 75 % of the labor force.
Among African American small businesses, though, companies with only one employee – who is the owner and operator – make up 95% of Black businesses across the United States.
The trend in California reflects that number, too.
“If you look at the numbers over the last four decades, it is clear that Black businesses in California have been gripping on to the short end of the stick,” said Walter Hawkins, a senior research associate at NewHawk, a Rialto-based consulting firm specializing in demographics and policy analysis.
“The vast majority of them are sole proprietorships,” Hawkins said. “And when it comes to federal and state-guaranteed loan programs, like the ones the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, commonly called I-Bank, administer, only a small percentage of Black businesses qualify for, or receive, that money,” Hawkins continued. “Black-owned businesses in California received 30 of 259 I-Bank loans in fiscal year 2018-19.”
So, as the state of California takes steps to shore up small businesses whose bottom lines have plummeted since the COVID-19 pandemic began, some Black business leaders are concerned. They say some proprietors among them might be under-informed about what the state is doing to help small businesses, or they might be locked out of state funding and support programs because they don’t have the resources or the capacities — or they might just not meet the requirements to access financial assistance.
And because many of them do not have accountants, financial advisors, marketing staff or lawyers on hand to focus on business development goals, many do not know the steps to take to connect with business support programs or to secure loans or other monetary assistance.
In August, the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) launched a program called “Get Digital CA.” It is an e-commerce partnership with large California-based tech companies like eBay, Google, Instagram/Facebook, and others.
It is designed, CalOSBA says, to connect small businesses in the state to technologies and equip them with the capabilities that are necessary to compete and survive in our local, state and national economies that are increasingly global and digital.
“This initiative will give our small businesses the extra help they need to go from surviving in a digital marketplace to thriving,” said Isabel Guzman, CalOSBA’s Director. The department that Guzman leads is part of the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz).
“California’s small businesses are an indomitable force, tirelessly working to pivot and address the ever-changing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Guzman continued. “We have seen thousands of these businesses embrace change to adapt their businesses to a new marketplace, including adopting digital technology at higher rates.”
Last month, CalOSBA began several virtual workshops titled “Grow With Google,” that are ongoing. The training they provide to business owners cover a range of subjects like how to create search-friendly websites; how to place their businesses on Google Maps; and how to use YouTube for marketing online.
Then, in September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that created a $100 million hiring tax credit for small businesses in the state. The authors of Senate Bill 1447, Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), Sen. Anna Caballero (D- Salinas), and Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona), say the legislation “expands California’s assistance programs for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“For months, I have been working with my colleagues to champion small business relief and I am very proud SB 1447 has been signed into law,” said Bradford when the governor approved the legislation. “This bill will help small businesses that are working hard to persist despite COVID-19 by supporting them as they hire or re-hire employees. This is particularly true for minorities, women, disabled veterans, and LGBT business enterprises. I am proud to have worked with my legislative colleagues and the governor on this effort.”
Salena Pryor, president of the California Black Small Business Association says she applauds the governor and Legislature for passing SB 1447. It is a step in the right direction, she says, but more needs to be done to address the specific needs of Black-owned small businesses.
“California should continue to work on innovative ways to help the other 95% of businesses where the owner is the employee,” she said. “Failure to attend to the needs of these business owners, who face a number of barriers that impede their ability to grow their businesses and employ others, will contribute to the ever-growing wealth gap that bills like this are designed to close.”
#NNPA BlackPress
PRESS ROOM: New AARP Pennsylvania Poll: Black Voters 50+ Say Social Security, Inflation, and Medicare Will Influence 2024 Vote
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “With inflation and the rising costs of living squeezing all Pennsylvania households, Black voters 50+ are clearly looking for leaders with a plan,” said Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. “Candidates would be wise to listen to their opinions and concerns if they want to win in November.”
The post PRESS ROOM: New AARP Pennsylvania Poll: Black Voters 50+ Say Social Security, Inflation, and Medicare Will Influence 2024 Vote first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
AARP Pennsylvania’s first 2024 election survey shows that candidates should pay close attention to Pennsylvanian voters ages 50 and older and highlights the priorities and concerns of Black voters ages 50 and older that will likely influence the outcome of the 2024 elections. Seventy-nine percent of Black voters in Pennsylvania are extremely motivated to vote this year. When asked about the issues that are important as they decide whom to vote for this November, older Black voters cited Social Security (92% say extremely or very important), Medicare (89%), policies to help seniors live independently at home as they age (87%), the cost of prescription drugs (86%) as key issues. Social Security and Medicare emerged as their top priority issue in their vote for Senate this year, with nearly twice as many Black voters 50+ choosing Social Security and Medicare as any of the other dozen issues tested.
“With inflation and the rising costs of living squeezing all Pennsylvania households, Black voters 50+ are looking for leaders with a plan,” said Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. “Candidates would be wise to listen to their opinions and concerns if they want to win in November.” Among Black voters 50+, President Joe Biden (D) leads former President Donald Trump (R) by a large margin: 84% to 8%. In the race for U.S. Senate, Senator Bob Casey (D) leads Dave McCormick 87% to 7%.
Other key takeaways include:
- 96% of Black voters 50+ say they are more likely to vote for a candidate for the U.S. Senate who advocated making sure workers get the Social Security they paid for through a lifetime of hard work.
- Four of the five issues measured as cost concerns are important to many Black voters 50+: health care/prescription drugs, utilities, food, and housing; and
- 58% of Black voters 50+ are worried about their financial situation including 63% of women. Health care/prescription drugs and housing are the biggest cost concerns.
- 66% of Black voters 50+ and 73% of Black voters 65+ say Social Security is or will be a major source of their income.
AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward & Impact Research to conduct a survey. The firms interviewed 1,398 likely Pennsylvania voters, which includes a statewide representative sample of 600 likely voters, with an oversample of 470 likely voters aged 50 and older and an additional oversample of 328 Black likely voters aged 50 and older, between April 24-30, 2024. The interviews were conducted via landline, cellphone, and SMS-to-web. The margin of sampling error for the 600 statewide samples is ±4.0%; for the 800 total sample of voters 50+ is ±3.5%; for the 400 total sample of Black voters 50+ is ±4.9%.
View the full survey results at aarp.org/PApolling.
For more information on how, when, and where to vote in Pennsylvania, visit aarp.org/PAVotes.
The post PRESS ROOM: New AARP Pennsylvania Poll: Black Voters 50+ Say Social Security, Inflation, and Medicare Will Influence 2024 Vote first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
#NNPA BlackPress
Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies
OAKLAND POST — “It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank. Harris, who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month, was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.
The post Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Bo Tefu, California Black Media | The Oakland Post
Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.
Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.
According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.
“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.
“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.
Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.
Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”
Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.
Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.
Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.
Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.
Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.
Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.
Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.
Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.
The post Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
#NNPA BlackPress
The TINA TURNER Musical Reveals Trials and Triumphs
THE OKLAHOMA EAGLE — The 1993 movie “What’s Love Got to Do with It” portrayed the relationship between Ike and Tina Turner as abusive before their breakup. Ike was also said to victimize Tina, as she shared in a 2018 interview with Oprah Winfrey. But Deon Releford-Lee, the actor who plays Ike in the Broadway musical, says there is more to Ike’s story than is told on screen. In preparing for the part, the Broadway actor searched for the triggers that made Ike who he was known to be.
The post The TINA TURNER Musical Reveals Trials and Triumphs first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Kimberly Marsh | The Oklahoma Eagle
According to Tulsans who knew him and the actor who plays him in the musical Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, Ike Turner may have had multiple sides to his personality. However, the Ike Turner the public has seen is a violent man.
The arc of Tina Turner’s career is well-known. Although Ike’s story is lesser known, he had a powerful influence on Tina’s life and career. They had a family together, and he witnessed Tina rise to superstardom.
The 1993 movie, “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” portrayed the relationship between Ike and Tina Turner as abusive before their breakup. Ike was also said to victimize Tina, as she shared in a 2018 interview with Oprah Winfrey. But Deon Releford-Lee, the actor who plays Ike in the Broadway musical, says there is more to Ike’s story than is told on screen. In preparing for the part, the Broadway actor searched for the triggers that made Ike who he was known to be.
Ike is part of the musical until the breakup and the start of Tina’s solo career in the second act. Because of the problematic themes of domestic violence, the musical is recommended for ages 14 and older.
Ike Turner
In an interview with The Oklahoma Eagle, Releford-Lee said playing Ike Turner was a healing experience for him. While “villains” have challenging roles, Releford-Lee said it is liberating in some respects, and he embraces the challenge.
“I have a wealth of knowledge of difficult things to play. My focus is to do as much…research as possible to figure out who this human was, what happened in his path, and what maybe led him to the places to do some of the horrible things he did. Not to excuse their behavior because it’s deplorable, right? We don’t just walk around hating people, throwing them around, forcing them, and manipulating them to do things,” Releford-Lee said. He described Ike’s aggressive behavior, especially with his wife.
Channeling that aggressive hyper-masculine energy takes a toll but also frees Releford-Lee to be softer, more feminine, more free, and more in touch with his emotions off-stage. Having played many villains in the past, he said he learned to become “Okay with my ugliness because that ugliness is in all of us.”
“Ike was a Black man who wrote music and was one of the fathers of Rock ‘n’ Roll but never received the credit,” Releford-Lee said. As Tina took center stage and became the superstar she was, Ike was overlooked.
“Those are the things that I focus on to help ground me in the (character) because being rejected for being Black, being talented, being othered, is something that I can connect to.”
Tulsa Connections
In an article published in June 2023 following Tina’s death, The Oklahoma Eagle Editor Gary Lee reflected on the days when the Ike and Tina Revue came to Tulsa and performed at the Big Ten Ballroom. The Ike and Tina Revue was a Big Ten headliner several times in the 1960s, and they performed together until their 1976 divorce.
Tulsa musician and radio personality Bobby Eaton Jr. knew them both and witnessed much of what was happening around them on the road. Eaton recently held a launch party for his new band, Eaton Out. During the performance, he recounted working with Ike and Tina Turner as the youngest guy in the band. Eaton said he appreciated Ike as a band leader, a musician/composer, and a businessman who showed him the ropes in the industry. But Eaton acknowledged that the relationship was not easy.
“Tina was there, and a lot of fights and a lot of crazy stuff went on back in those days, but at the same, I couldn’t wait to get away because they had too much drama going on.”
Singer Michelle Love, a/k/a Sweet Randi Love, became an Ikette in 1993 and knew him during the last decade of his life when he revived his career as a frontman. She joined the band despite being familiar with the tumultuous relationship Tina described.
“We were more like a family unit. When it came to work, though, he was a real hard ass. I don’t want to say it like that. But you know what I mean? He was serious when it came to work. As far as that goes, he didn’t play any games because he was like, this is me on stage, and it represents me.
“After the Tina stuff, Ike was self-conscious…about every little thing that he did because he had already gotten kind of a bad rap behind the movie. So, he was a real stickler as far as that goes,” Love said, “But when it was time for everybody to go home and we were calming down, Ike was just a big old teddy bear. Honestly, he was really. I think a lot of what he went through, you know, in the past team as well, had a lot to do with his insecurities. During the Jim Crow days, he went through quite a bit. So, there’s a lot that people don’t know about him. As far as his background story goes, I’m not trying to take away from Tina’s background story because she has a story to tell, but it might explain why he was the way he was.”
Ike was released from prison in 1991 after serving 18 months for drug offenses. Cocaine was his drug of choice, and it flowed freely, in large quantities, around him. Ike’s drug addiction relapse in 2004 led to his drug overdose in 2007.
Love has returned to Tulsa and continues to sing and perform with Sweet Randi Love and The Love Thang band.
About Deon Releford-Lee
Releford-Lee attended Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, an HBCU. At the university, he studied dance and theater. He began working professionally when he was still not old enough to play certain roles, portraying more mature characters. Although getting attention was difficult, he worked his way from ensemble to lead roles. A move to New York City followed, leading to his current role as Ike.
Deon Releford-Lee plays Ike Turner in the TPAC production TINA: The Tina Turner Musical.
Releford-Lee plays Ike full-time every night but has two understudy actors for this incredibly physical and emotional role. A self-described Bohemian, Releford-Lee’s personality is very different from Ike’s, and he is shocked when audience members have no idea who he is when the cast goes out to greet them.
Following a night onstage, he does breathwork to unwind and get out of character, which can take about 15 minutes to exit.
“I realized that when I’m feeling anxious, it’s mostly because physically I’m not breathing at all. I’m holding my breath, so I’m just reminding myself to breathe. I’m someone who doesn’t leave the theater right away. I just kind of sit there for a bit, take off my costume, take off my wig, put my jewelry on, put my own clothes back on, and just kind of sit and listen to music, and then move on.”
Releford-Lee said people will learn a little more through Ike’s backstory, how the industry treated him, and why he was the way he was.
“And in the same breath, you’re also seeing him being manipulative and hurtful. And the audience is kind of on his side in one second, and then the very next second, betrayed by him.
“I love the moment where Tina and Ike first meet because you see them laughing, you see them enjoying each other. It’s one of the only times of fun between them. And I think that’s beautiful. I love watching Tina discover herself in the second act.”
Celebrity Attractions describes “Tina-The Tina Turner Musical” as the inspiring journey of a woman who broke barriers and became the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Set to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of her most beloved hits, this electrifying sensation will send you soaring to the rafters.” Tina Turner won 12 Grammy Awards and her live shows were seen by millions, with more concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. Featuring her songs, “Tina–The Tina Turner Musical” is written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall and directed by the internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd.
The post The TINA TURNER Musical Reveals Trials and Triumphs first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
-
City Government3 weeks ago
Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties
-
Activism3 weeks ago
S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System
-
Alameda County3 weeks ago
An Oakland Homeless Shelter Is Showing How a Housing and Healthcare First Approach Can Work: Part 1
-
Community3 weeks ago
Gov. Newsom, Attorney General Bonta Back Bill to Allow California to Host Arizona Abortion Care
-
Community3 weeks ago
Opening Soon: Vibe Bistro Is Richmond’s New Hub for Coffee, Cuisine, Community and Culture
-
Community3 weeks ago
Gov. Newsom Issues Proclamation Declaring Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide
-
Bay Area3 weeks ago
Mayor Breed Proposes Waiving City Fees for Night Markets, Block Parties, Farmers’ Markets, Other Outdoor Community Events
-
California Black Media3 weeks ago
Cinco De Mayo: Five Interesting Facts You Should Know About the Popular Mexican American Holiday