California Black Media

Opinion: California Ethnic Media Celebrates Its Purpose — And People

Are ethnic media outlets like the Oakland Post simply providing information? Or do they represent a de facto social justice movement in California? Those were the existential questions posed when hundreds of ethnic media journalists and publishers from around the state gathered last week in Sacramento. At the very least, we all need help.

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2024

Oakland Post

(Left to Right) This column’s author, Emil Guillermo; Sandy Close, founder of Ethnic Media Services; Regina Brown Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media; and Pamela Anchang, Editor of Chief of Immigrant Magazine at the Ethnic Media Awards in Sacramento. Photo Courtesy of EMS.

By Emil Guillermo

At the very least, we all need help.

To that end, Regina Brown Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media (CBM), the event’s co-sponsor, closed out the Ethnic Media Expo and Awards with reassurances.

“We’re working and fighting to make sure you have the resources you need,” Brown Wilson said to member organizations including the Oakland Post.

The conference provided access to state leaders like Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

Still, the conference was about more than access, said co-producer Sandy Close of Ethnic Media News services, who stood next to Brown Wilson. Close’s group brought in attendees from Asian, Latino, LGBTQ, Native American media.

“We will support each other,” Close said. “We may have conflicts, but we’ll never be able to call ourselves a coalition without events like this conference.”

It’s not easy. I’ve known Close since the 1990s’ when she asked me to host the first awards program recognizing the best in California’s ethnic media.

More than 30 years later, even the White ethnic media is having problems staying profitable and relevant. That makes coalition-building among the mom-and-pop ethnic new media outlets more than a strategy, but a matter of survival.

If there’s a way to leverage our audiences into a real “movement” it may be in fighting hate.

One conference session discussed the “StopAAPIHate” campaign, how it was funded with more than $250 million for three years, but how its funding runs out in 2026. After the pandemic, the instances of Asian hate have decreased. From a peak in 2021, case numbers decreased by 43% in 2022.

NO JUSTICE?

In California, home to the largest AAPI population in the nation, 1,970 hate crimes were reported in 2023. Only 5 went to trial, according to data from the California Attorney General’s office. In 2021, at the peak of the crimes against Asian, just one case went to trial, according to a story by Ethnic Media Services.

We can do one thing right: make people aware through ethnic media and community services. But now with no permanent funding even that’s endangered, including the hotline available with care coordinators in 200 languages at 833.8NO.HATE, or 833.866.4283.

Andy Wong of Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco, a leader in organizing and gathering the funding for “StopAAPIHate, mentioned during a panel that Blacks are the No. 1 group victimized by hate. That fact almost stopped everyone cold.

“We know that the African American community is subject to more hate than any other community,” said Wong. “Why are we not animating and mobilizing and bringing folks together to champion that?”

One Black publisher, Wallace J. Allen IV, of the West Side Story newspaper in San Bernadino agreed.

“We need to do it together,” said Allen.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See him on YouTube.com/@emilamok1 Contact: www.amok.com

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Oakland Post: Week of June 17 – 23, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 17 – 23, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

June 20, 2026

Oakland Post

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IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

2 weeks ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.