California Black Media

Assembly Select Committee on Happiness Releases Its Final Report

Happy people have better general health and tend to live longer enjoying employment, economic, and personal benefits, according to a report on happiness by California’s Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes.

Published

1 year ago

September 29, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Happy people have better general health and tend to live longer enjoying employment, economic, and personal benefits, according to a report on happiness by California’s Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes.

The committee revealed that the negative impact of unhappiness and its related factors is severe. The report showed that happier people are healthier compared to unhappy people who struggle with behavioral health issues.

Susan DeMarois, director of the California Department of Aging, testified to the committee that loneliness has damaging health outcomes for senior residents.

“A significant driver in the epidemic of older adult behavioral health issues is loneliness,” said DeMarois. “Loneliness has such far-reaching consequences that the health impact is comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.”

According to surveys conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in 1998 and 2023, happiness for people in California has decreased significantly by almost half in the last 25 years.

The survey showed that fewer residents are “very happy,” 28% of residents were happy in 1998 as opposed to 16% in 2023.

Survey results indicated that more people said they were “not too happy,” 13% of people admitted to being unhappy in 1998 compared to 26% in 2023. A major concern for the committee is that the number of unhappy people has doubled in the last quarter century.

Other survey polls by Gallup showed that coastal residents were more likely to be happy than their inland counterparts.

Given the recent survey results, the committee urged the state to adopt a creative and collaborative approach to improving happiness among residents. Survey polls verified that public trust in the state government is at a historic low. The report recommends lawmakers develop policies that help create trust between residents and the state government.

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2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Black Women’s Think Tank Founder Kellie Todd Griffin

As the president and CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, Griffin is on a mission to shift the narrative and outcomes for Black women and girls. She founded the nation’s first Black Women’s Think Tank, securing $5 million in state funding to fuel policy change.

Published

4 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Kellie Todd Griffin. CBM file photo.

By Edward Henderson
California Black Media

With more than 25 years of experience spanning public affairs, community engagement, strategy, marketing, and communications, Kellie Todd Griffin is recognized across California as a leader who mobilizes people and policy around issues that matter.

Griffin spoke with California Black Media (CBM) about her successes and setbacks in 2025 and her hopes for 2026.

Looking back at 2025, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why? 

Our greatest achievement in this year is we got an opportunity to honor the work of 35 Black women throughout California who are trailblazing the way for the next generation of leaders.

How did your leadership, efforts and investments as president and CEO California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

We’re training the next leaders. We have been able to train 35 women over a two-year period, and we’re about to start a new cohort of another 30 women. We also have trained over 500 middle and high school girls in leadership, advocacy, and financial literacy.

What frustrated you the most over the last year?

Getting the question, “why.” Why advocate for Black women? Why invest in Black people, Black communities? It’s always constantly having to explain that, although we are aware that there are other populations that are in great need, the quality-of-life indices for Black Californians continue to decrease. Our life expectancies are decreasing. Our unhoused population is increasing. Our health outcomes remain the worst.

We’re not asking anyone to choose one group to prioritize. We are saying, though, in addition to your investments into our immigrant brothers and sisters – or our religious brothers and sisters – we are also asking you to uplift the needs of Black Californians. That way, all of us can move forward together.

What inspired you the most over the last year?

I’ve always been amazed by the joy of Black women in the midst of crisis.

That is really our secret sauce. We don’t let the current state of any issue take our joy from us. It may break us a little bit. We may get tired a little bit. But we find ways to express that – through the arts, through music, through poetry.

What is one lesson you learned in 2025 that will inform your decision-making next year?

Reset. It’s so important not to be sitting still. We have a new administration. We’re seeing data showing that Black women have the largest unemployment rate. We’ve lost so many jobs. We can have rest – we can be restful – but we have to continue the resistance.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians faced in 2025?

Motivation.

I choose motivation because of the tiredness. What is going to motivate us to be involved in 2026?

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

I want to get Black Californians in spaces and places of power and influence – as well as opportunities to thrive economically, socially, and physically.