Op-Ed
Blackonomics: Caught Between Barack and a Hard Place
By James Clingman
NNPA Columnist
The experiment that featured a Black man in the White house is on the downside now. Folks in the Obama administration are busy looking for their next job and jumping ship faster than rats. But you can’t blame them; that’s the way it is in politics. You ride your horse as long as you can and then you find a new horse. That’s just what folks in presidential administrations do. The question is: What horse will Black folks ride now?
With Barack, came new line-dances at the clubs, new phrases, and new “hope” that would finally move Black people to the front of the line for a “change.” We were large and in charge, big-ballers and shot-callers, cool and stylish, but we soon found that we were not really running anything. Having bet the farm on our horse, we now look on in agony as he comes down the home stretch. We want to move the finish line a bit farther down the track because we don’t yet have the victory, and it looks like we’re not going to get it. All we can hope for now is just a little more euphoria before November 2016.
Black folks are now between Barack and hard place. We don’t know if we are pitching or catching. As that Richard Pryor movie asked, “Which way is up?” We invested nearly 100 percent of our political capital in our current president, thinking we would get a decent Return on Investment (ROI). Unless there is a drastic uptick in the next few months, our investment will be lost forever, because we know this experiment will not be done again for a long time.
Between Barack and a hard place means that Black people, collectively, are now without a comfortable place to turn, without someone we can look to for hope and change, and without what we considered to be a foothold in politics. Being between Barack and a hard place is causing anxiety, doubt, and even fear among some of our people.
Being between Barack and a hard place will make many of us revert to our political ways by staying on the Democrat’s wagon because the Republicans ignore us and don’t like us, anyway. We will rationalize our allegiance to the same party that takes us for granted, however. And some of us will opt out of the system altogether because we are so frustrated and angry at how the previous two terms went down.
It’s very uncomfortable being between Barack and a hard place. To whom will we turn? Will Hillary help us? Will one of the Republican candidates help us? Maybe Dr. Ben (Carson) will win and come to our rescue. What are Black folks to do in 2016 as we now find ourselves wedged between Barack and a hard place with no wiggle room? Maybe we could “apologize” to Hillary for abandoning her in 2008. Maybe we could do a public mea culpa to the Republicans. After all, we need someone to turn to now, right?
Well, here are a few thoughts. Maybe we can now turn to ourselves. Maybe now we will fully understand the error of our ways and make appropriate change. Maybe we will finally work together as a solid bloc to leverage our precious votes against the 2016 candidates. Maybe we will understand that no matter who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Black folks still have to be vigilant about our political and economic position in this country. And maybe, as we struggle to remove ourselves from between Barack and a hard place, at least a small percentage of us will organize around economic and political empowerment.
The Barack experiment was cool. He sings like Al Green, dances like the steppers in Chicago, shoots three-pointers on the basketball court, plays golf with Alonzo Mourning, and even gets his preach on when speaking to Black audiences. In other words, Barack could make us feel real good, so much so that we kicked back, relaxed, and waited for him to fix our problems, to speak on our behalf, and to give us the same deference he gives to other groups. Now, we find ourselves between Barack and a hard place – no turning room, very little breathing room, and much uncertainty about our future in the political arena.
There will be a new sheriff in town in January 2017, and our guy will stand there with him or her to give congrats and well wishes right before he rides off into the sunset, back to Chicago, Hawaii, or wherever, to enjoy the fruit of his labor, and I do mean fruit. He and his family will be well taken care of, but most of our families will be in the same or worse condition, having been stuck between Barack and a hard place for eight years.
Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. He can be reached through his website, Blackonomics.com.
###
Activism
Up to the Job: How San Francisco’s PRC Is Providing Work Opportunities That Turn Into Lasting Stability
Each year, PRC serves more than 5,000 clients through a wide range of programs. These include housing navigation, legal advocacy to ensure access to health and public benefits, supportive housing, job and life-skills training, and residential treatment programs.
Joe Kocurek | California Black Media
Seville Christian arrived in San Francisco in the 1990s from Kansas City, Mo., a transgender woman coming from a time and place still hostile to who she was.
San Francisco offered a deeper LGBTQ+ history and a more visible community of people like her, but even in a city known for acceptance, building a stable life from scratch was no small task.
After arriving in the city, she turned to Positive Resource Center (PRC) looking for work — and for a foothold — in a new place.
“PRC gave me my first job,” Christian said. “A simple gig — passing out magazines at the San Francisco Pride Parade.”
That first opportunity marked the beginning of a decades-long relationship with PRC, one that has seen Christian grow from client to valued employee, and eventually to policy fellow.
“Today, I’ve been with PRC for 27 years, going on 28,” she said.
Helping people access employment and build sustainable careers has been a cornerstone of PRC’s mission since its inception nearly four decades ago. In its most recent annual impact report, PRC served 443 clients through workforce development services, including career counseling, educational programs, hands-on training, and job search assistance. The average wage earned by PRC clients is $26.48 per hour — approximately 38% above San Francisco’s minimum wage.
To advance this work, organizations like PRC have benefited from funding through California’s Stop the Hate Program, which provides direct support to community-based organizations leading anti-hate initiatives.
Christian’s path was not without challenges. During some rocky years, she experienced periods of housing instability and struggled with addiction. Through PRC, she enrolled in a life-skills program that emphasized using her own lived experience as a means of helping others. The program helped set her on a path toward completing an associate’s degree and ultimately launching a career in case management.
“Today, whether someone is new to the city or has lived here their whole life, I know how to help them navigate to where they need to be,” Christian said.
PRC welcomed guests to their annual Open House in April, an evening dedicated to connection, reflection, and learning more about the programs and people working every day to support San Franciscans experiencing housing instability, unemployment, and behavioral health challenges.
Each year, PRC serves more than 5,000 clients through a wide range of programs. These include housing navigation, legal advocacy to ensure access to health and public benefits, supportive housing, job and life-skills training, and residential treatment programs.
While PRC was founded to serve people living with HIV, its mission has expanded over the decades to meet the needs of people with disabilities, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those facing mental health and substance use challenges.
According to PRC’s Chief of Public Policy and Public Affairs, Tasha Henneman, some of the organization’s earliest programs remain as vital today as they were at the start.
“Our emergency financial assistance program helped more than 1,200 people this year pay rent, cover medical bills, and keep the lights on,” Henneman said. “And over 1,400 people reached out for legal advocacy, resulting in more than $2.5 million in retroactive benefits unlocked.”
Beyond direct services, PRC is deeply committed to community empowerment and policy change. Programs such as the Black Leadership Council support community leaders in advocating for systemic reform, while the Black Trans Initiative focuses on addressing the unique challenges faced by Black transgender individuals.
A recent study from the Williams Institute highlighted findings that 71% of transgender homicide victims in the U.S. between 2010 and 2021 were Black and that nearly a third of the transgender homicides during that period were confirmed or suspected hate crimes.
PRC’s direct and indirect services can be a lifeline for people experiencing hate and are an example of the resources people can get connected with through the state’s CA vs Hate hotline.
PRC is now also producing a film project that centers the lived experiences of Black trans clients, including individuals like Christian.
“Our film highlights the health journeys and lived experiences of some of PRC’s Black trans clients,” Henneman said. “Our goal is to give voice, visibility, and agency to the participants — and to bring their stories, both harrowing and inspirational, to policymakers and the broader public.”
The film, expected to be released later this year, is directed by Yule Caise, with assistant director Zarina Codes, a Black transgender San Francisco resident.
Today, Christian continues her relationship with PRC as an ambassador, reflecting on a journey that began with a single job opportunity and grew into a lifelong commitment to service.
“Sometimes I’ll be riding the bus or standing in a grocery store, and someone will come up to me from a women’s shelter,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, Miss Seville, I just want to thank you. You really helped me with what I was dealing with.’”
She paused, smiling.
“And in those moments,” Christian said, “I think to myself, “Well!.”
A single word that sums up pride in a journey to find the best in herself.
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.
Activism
Building Bridges of Support: How AAPI Equity Alliance Is Strengthening California’s Anti-Hate Network
In May 2022, Patricia Roque said she and her parents were attacked after a late-night stop at a fast-food drive-thru in Southern California. After hitting their car, the other driver pulled alongside them and mocked them using a racist Asian accent. Then, he threatened to kill them. The situation escalated when the man returned while the family was waiting for police and assaulted Roque’s father, fracturing his rib and choking her mother before bystanders intervened.
By Edward Henderson
When Aurelle Garner stepped out of her car one summer evening and saw a group of youths marching down her street, her stomach dropped.
What had begun as slurs hurled at her and her transgender children at a local park had escalated to violent pounding on their front door. Garner said that, before that incident, local law enforcement had repeatedly minimized her reports of harassment.
It was not until she contacted the Legal Department at The LGBTQ Center Long Beach that her family finally found help.
“I don’t know where we’d be if it weren’t for their help,” Garner, who lives in Southern California, said. “They didn’t just give legal advice. They helped us navigate a system that had otherwise dismissed us.”
Aurelle Garner, who received services from The LGBTQ Center Long Beach (Sponsored by AAPI Equity Alliance) to aid her transgender children. (Courtesy of AAPI Equity Alliance)
That support exists because The LGBTQ Center Long Beach does not work in isolation.
The Center partners with the AAPI Equity Alliance under California’s Stop the Hate program, a statewide coalition aimed at preventing hate and supporting survivors.
As the Los Angeles County Regional Lead, AAPI Equity Alliance works with the Center and dozens of other community-based organizations to connect people to legal aid, mental health services, and support. The programs also work in tandem with CA vs Hate, the state’s anti-hate hotline and virtual reporting system that connects people across California with organizations like the LGBTQ Center Long Beach – that provide support services
Garner’s experience illustrates the kind of harm that often falls outside the narrow legal definition of a hate crime but still leaves families traumatized and unsafe. It also shows how AAPI Equity Alliance’s leadership in the Stop the Hate ecosystem translates state funding and policy into real, on-the-ground support.
Patricia Roque (Courtesy of AAPI Equity Alliance)
In May 2022, Patricia Roque said she and her parents were attacked after a late-night stop at a fast-food drive-thru in Southern California. After hitting their car, the other driver pulled alongside them and mocked them using a racist Asian accent. Then, he threatened to kill them. The situation escalated when the man returned while the family was waiting for police and assaulted Roque’s father, fracturing his rib and choking her mother before bystanders intervened.
“The police arrived long after it was over,” Roque told California Black Media (CBM). “By then, the damage was already done.”
The following day, Roque’s family was connected to the Filipino Migrant Center (FMC), a community-based organization that has received Stop the Hate funding and works within the broader AAPI Equity Alliance network. FMC provided immediate support — helping the family navigate legal options, organizing emergency financial assistance to cover medical bills and missed work, and offering emotional and community care while the criminal case unfolded.
“But the process is long and complicated. When you need help right away, that delay is a huge barrier. FMC was there immediately,”Rogue said.
The criminal case did not result in the accountability the family hoped for. But Roque said the support she received transformed her relationship to her community and to advocacy.
“Before this, I wasn’t involved in organizing at all,” she said. “Through this process, I realized my voice mattered. FMC helped turn something traumatic into a way to support others and push for change.”
Stories like Garner’s and Roque’s are part of a much larger reckoning that began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country experienced a surge in harassment, discrimination, and violence fueled by racist rhetoric.
Filipino Migrant Center stands in solidarity against Anti-Asian Violence (Courtesy of AAPI Equity Alliance)
In response, AAPI Equity Alliance partnered with San Francisco’s Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University to launch Stop AAPI Hate in March 2020. Since then, the project has collected more than 9,000 reports nationwide documenting incidents ranging from verbal harassment and workplace discrimination to physical assault and child bullying.
“People tend to think about hate only when it turns violent,” said Kiran Bhalla of AAPI Equity Alliance. “But there are everyday acts of discrimination that people endure constantly. Without some kind of recourse, that harm just keeps going.”
The data helped spur unprecedented action in California. In 2021, the State Legislature passed the $165.5 million Asian Pacific Islander Equity Budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Of that total, $110 million was dedicated to victim services, education, and outreach. In August 2023, California invested an additional $40 million to expand California’s Stop the Hate program to serve a broader range of communities affected by hate and discrimination.
Today, the program supports roughly 100 nonprofit organizations statewide. As Los Angeles County Regional Lead, AAPI Equity Alliance coordinates grantees, facilitates cross-community collaboration, and helps ensure services reach those most impacted.
A recently released survey estimated that approximately 3.1 million Californians directly experienced hate, with Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders, Black or African Americans, and other communities of color, including Asian Americans, among those most likely to experience hate.
Black Californians, however, remain the most targeted group when it comes to reported hate crimes.
Nearly 48% of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults in California reported experiencing a hate incident in 2024, according to Stop AAPI Hate research. Most incidents were not criminal, leaving survivors with little recourse through the legal system.
That gap is precisely where AAPI Equity Alliance and its partners focus their work. The Stop the Hate framework prioritizes non-carceral responses, recognizing that policing alone often fails survivors and can further harm Black, brown, and immigrant communities.
Instead, the work centers on data and research, policy advocacy, community care, and public education. Through school-based programs, legal advocacy, emergency assistance, and survivor-centered services, the network aims to interrupt cycles of harm before they escalate.
For survivors like Garner and Roque, that support has made the difference between enduring trauma in silence and finding a path toward healing and collective power.
“When people experience hate, there’s often a profound sense of isolation,” Bhalla said. “This work helps people get back to school, back to work, back to their lives. It reminds them they’re not alone.”
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.
Advice
Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College
While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.
Sponsored by JPMorganChase
As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.
If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.
Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.
Understand what causes financial stress
While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.
2. Determine your financial priorities
Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.
3. Create a plan and stick to it
While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.
4. Pay down debt
Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.
5. Build your financial resilience
Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.
6. Seek help and support
Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.
The bottom line
Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC
© 2026 JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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Op-Ed
Blackonomics: Caught Between Barack and a Hard Place
By James Clingman
NNPA Columnist
The experiment that featured a Black man in the White house is on the downside now. Folks in the Obama administration are busy looking for their next job and jumping ship faster than rats. But you can’t blame them; that’s the way it is in politics. You ride your horse as long as you can and then you find a new horse. That’s just what folks in presidential administrations do. The question is: What horse will Black folks ride now?
With Barack, came new line-dances at the clubs, new phrases, and new “hope” that would finally move Black people to the front of the line for a “change.” We were large and in charge, big-ballers and shot-callers, cool and stylish, but we soon found that we were not really running anything. Having bet the farm on our horse, we now look on in agony as he comes down the home stretch. We want to move the finish line a bit farther down the track because we don’t yet have the victory, and it looks like we’re not going to get it. All we can hope for now is just a little more euphoria before November 2016.
Black folks are now between Barack and hard place. We don’t know if we are pitching or catching. As that Richard Pryor movie asked, “Which way is up?” We invested nearly 100 percent of our political capital in our current president, thinking we would get a decent Return on Investment (ROI). Unless there is a drastic uptick in the next few months, our investment will be lost forever, because we know this experiment will not be done again for a long time.
Between Barack and a hard place means that Black people, collectively, are now without a comfortable place to turn, without someone we can look to for hope and change, and without what we considered to be a foothold in politics. Being between Barack and a hard place is causing anxiety, doubt, and even fear among some of our people.
Being between Barack and a hard place will make many of us revert to our political ways by staying on the Democrat’s wagon because the Republicans ignore us and don’t like us, anyway. We will rationalize our allegiance to the same party that takes us for granted, however. And some of us will opt out of the system altogether because we are so frustrated and angry at how the previous two terms went down.
It’s very uncomfortable being between Barack and a hard place. To whom will we turn? Will Hillary help us? Will one of the Republican candidates help us? Maybe Dr. Ben (Carson) will win and come to our rescue. What are Black folks to do in 2016 as we now find ourselves wedged between Barack and a hard place with no wiggle room? Maybe we could “apologize” to Hillary for abandoning her in 2008. Maybe we could do a public mea culpa to the Republicans. After all, we need someone to turn to now, right?
Well, here are a few thoughts. Maybe we can now turn to ourselves. Maybe now we will fully understand the error of our ways and make appropriate change. Maybe we will finally work together as a solid bloc to leverage our precious votes against the 2016 candidates. Maybe we will understand that no matter who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Black folks still have to be vigilant about our political and economic position in this country. And maybe, as we struggle to remove ourselves from between Barack and a hard place, at least a small percentage of us will organize around economic and political empowerment.
The Barack experiment was cool. He sings like Al Green, dances like the steppers in Chicago, shoots three-pointers on the basketball court, plays golf with Alonzo Mourning, and even gets his preach on when speaking to Black audiences. In other words, Barack could make us feel real good, so much so that we kicked back, relaxed, and waited for him to fix our problems, to speak on our behalf, and to give us the same deference he gives to other groups. Now, we find ourselves between Barack and a hard place – no turning room, very little breathing room, and much uncertainty about our future in the political arena.
There will be a new sheriff in town in January 2017, and our guy will stand there with him or her to give congrats and well wishes right before he rides off into the sunset, back to Chicago, Hawaii, or wherever, to enjoy the fruit of his labor, and I do mean fruit. He and his family will be well taken care of, but most of our families will be in the same or worse condition, having been stuck between Barack and a hard place for eight years.
Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. He can be reached through his website, Blackonomics.com.
###
Activism
Up to the Job: How San Francisco’s PRC Is Providing Work Opportunities That Turn Into Lasting Stability
Each year, PRC serves more than 5,000 clients through a wide range of programs. These include housing navigation, legal advocacy to ensure access to health and public benefits, supportive housing, job and life-skills training, and residential treatment programs.
Joe Kocurek | California Black Media
Seville Christian arrived in San Francisco in the 1990s from Kansas City, Mo., a transgender woman coming from a time and place still hostile to who she was.
San Francisco offered a deeper LGBTQ+ history and a more visible community of people like her, but even in a city known for acceptance, building a stable life from scratch was no small task.
After arriving in the city, she turned to Positive Resource Center (PRC) looking for work — and for a foothold — in a new place.
“PRC gave me my first job,” Christian said. “A simple gig — passing out magazines at the San Francisco Pride Parade.”
That first opportunity marked the beginning of a decades-long relationship with PRC, one that has seen Christian grow from client to valued employee, and eventually to policy fellow.
“Today, I’ve been with PRC for 27 years, going on 28,” she said.
Helping people access employment and build sustainable careers has been a cornerstone of PRC’s mission since its inception nearly four decades ago. In its most recent annual impact report, PRC served 443 clients through workforce development services, including career counseling, educational programs, hands-on training, and job search assistance. The average wage earned by PRC clients is $26.48 per hour — approximately 38% above San Francisco’s minimum wage.
To advance this work, organizations like PRC have benefited from funding through California’s Stop the Hate Program, which provides direct support to community-based organizations leading anti-hate initiatives.
Christian’s path was not without challenges. During some rocky years, she experienced periods of housing instability and struggled with addiction. Through PRC, she enrolled in a life-skills program that emphasized using her own lived experience as a means of helping others. The program helped set her on a path toward completing an associate’s degree and ultimately launching a career in case management.
“Today, whether someone is new to the city or has lived here their whole life, I know how to help them navigate to where they need to be,” Christian said.
PRC welcomed guests to their annual Open House in April, an evening dedicated to connection, reflection, and learning more about the programs and people working every day to support San Franciscans experiencing housing instability, unemployment, and behavioral health challenges.
Each year, PRC serves more than 5,000 clients through a wide range of programs. These include housing navigation, legal advocacy to ensure access to health and public benefits, supportive housing, job and life-skills training, and residential treatment programs.
While PRC was founded to serve people living with HIV, its mission has expanded over the decades to meet the needs of people with disabilities, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those facing mental health and substance use challenges.
According to PRC’s Chief of Public Policy and Public Affairs, Tasha Henneman, some of the organization’s earliest programs remain as vital today as they were at the start.
“Our emergency financial assistance program helped more than 1,200 people this year pay rent, cover medical bills, and keep the lights on,” Henneman said. “And over 1,400 people reached out for legal advocacy, resulting in more than $2.5 million in retroactive benefits unlocked.”
Beyond direct services, PRC is deeply committed to community empowerment and policy change. Programs such as the Black Leadership Council support community leaders in advocating for systemic reform, while the Black Trans Initiative focuses on addressing the unique challenges faced by Black transgender individuals.
A recent study from the Williams Institute highlighted findings that 71% of transgender homicide victims in the U.S. between 2010 and 2021 were Black and that nearly a third of the transgender homicides during that period were confirmed or suspected hate crimes.
PRC’s direct and indirect services can be a lifeline for people experiencing hate and are an example of the resources people can get connected with through the state’s CA vs Hate hotline.
PRC is now also producing a film project that centers the lived experiences of Black trans clients, including individuals like Christian.
“Our film highlights the health journeys and lived experiences of some of PRC’s Black trans clients,” Henneman said. “Our goal is to give voice, visibility, and agency to the participants — and to bring their stories, both harrowing and inspirational, to policymakers and the broader public.”
The film, expected to be released later this year, is directed by Yule Caise, with assistant director Zarina Codes, a Black transgender San Francisco resident.
Today, Christian continues her relationship with PRC as an ambassador, reflecting on a journey that began with a single job opportunity and grew into a lifelong commitment to service.
“Sometimes I’ll be riding the bus or standing in a grocery store, and someone will come up to me from a women’s shelter,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, Miss Seville, I just want to thank you. You really helped me with what I was dealing with.’”
She paused, smiling.
“And in those moments,” Christian said, “I think to myself, “Well!.”
A single word that sums up pride in a journey to find the best in herself.
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.
Activism
Building Bridges of Support: How AAPI Equity Alliance Is Strengthening California’s Anti-Hate Network
In May 2022, Patricia Roque said she and her parents were attacked after a late-night stop at a fast-food drive-thru in Southern California. After hitting their car, the other driver pulled alongside them and mocked them using a racist Asian accent. Then, he threatened to kill them. The situation escalated when the man returned while the family was waiting for police and assaulted Roque’s father, fracturing his rib and choking her mother before bystanders intervened.
By Edward Henderson
When Aurelle Garner stepped out of her car one summer evening and saw a group of youths marching down her street, her stomach dropped.
What had begun as slurs hurled at her and her transgender children at a local park had escalated to violent pounding on their front door. Garner said that, before that incident, local law enforcement had repeatedly minimized her reports of harassment.
It was not until she contacted the Legal Department at The LGBTQ Center Long Beach that her family finally found help.
“I don’t know where we’d be if it weren’t for their help,” Garner, who lives in Southern California, said. “They didn’t just give legal advice. They helped us navigate a system that had otherwise dismissed us.”
Aurelle Garner, who received services from The LGBTQ Center Long Beach (Sponsored by AAPI Equity Alliance) to aid her transgender children. (Courtesy of AAPI Equity Alliance)
That support exists because The LGBTQ Center Long Beach does not work in isolation.
The Center partners with the AAPI Equity Alliance under California’s Stop the Hate program, a statewide coalition aimed at preventing hate and supporting survivors.
As the Los Angeles County Regional Lead, AAPI Equity Alliance works with the Center and dozens of other community-based organizations to connect people to legal aid, mental health services, and support. The programs also work in tandem with CA vs Hate, the state’s anti-hate hotline and virtual reporting system that connects people across California with organizations like the LGBTQ Center Long Beach – that provide support services
Garner’s experience illustrates the kind of harm that often falls outside the narrow legal definition of a hate crime but still leaves families traumatized and unsafe. It also shows how AAPI Equity Alliance’s leadership in the Stop the Hate ecosystem translates state funding and policy into real, on-the-ground support.
Patricia Roque (Courtesy of AAPI Equity Alliance)
In May 2022, Patricia Roque said she and her parents were attacked after a late-night stop at a fast-food drive-thru in Southern California. After hitting their car, the other driver pulled alongside them and mocked them using a racist Asian accent. Then, he threatened to kill them. The situation escalated when the man returned while the family was waiting for police and assaulted Roque’s father, fracturing his rib and choking her mother before bystanders intervened.
“The police arrived long after it was over,” Roque told California Black Media (CBM). “By then, the damage was already done.”
The following day, Roque’s family was connected to the Filipino Migrant Center (FMC), a community-based organization that has received Stop the Hate funding and works within the broader AAPI Equity Alliance network. FMC provided immediate support — helping the family navigate legal options, organizing emergency financial assistance to cover medical bills and missed work, and offering emotional and community care while the criminal case unfolded.
“But the process is long and complicated. When you need help right away, that delay is a huge barrier. FMC was there immediately,”Rogue said.
The criminal case did not result in the accountability the family hoped for. But Roque said the support she received transformed her relationship to her community and to advocacy.
“Before this, I wasn’t involved in organizing at all,” she said. “Through this process, I realized my voice mattered. FMC helped turn something traumatic into a way to support others and push for change.”
Stories like Garner’s and Roque’s are part of a much larger reckoning that began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country experienced a surge in harassment, discrimination, and violence fueled by racist rhetoric.
Filipino Migrant Center stands in solidarity against Anti-Asian Violence (Courtesy of AAPI Equity Alliance)
In response, AAPI Equity Alliance partnered with San Francisco’s Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University to launch Stop AAPI Hate in March 2020. Since then, the project has collected more than 9,000 reports nationwide documenting incidents ranging from verbal harassment and workplace discrimination to physical assault and child bullying.
“People tend to think about hate only when it turns violent,” said Kiran Bhalla of AAPI Equity Alliance. “But there are everyday acts of discrimination that people endure constantly. Without some kind of recourse, that harm just keeps going.”
The data helped spur unprecedented action in California. In 2021, the State Legislature passed the $165.5 million Asian Pacific Islander Equity Budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Of that total, $110 million was dedicated to victim services, education, and outreach. In August 2023, California invested an additional $40 million to expand California’s Stop the Hate program to serve a broader range of communities affected by hate and discrimination.
Today, the program supports roughly 100 nonprofit organizations statewide. As Los Angeles County Regional Lead, AAPI Equity Alliance coordinates grantees, facilitates cross-community collaboration, and helps ensure services reach those most impacted.
A recently released survey estimated that approximately 3.1 million Californians directly experienced hate, with Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders, Black or African Americans, and other communities of color, including Asian Americans, among those most likely to experience hate.
Black Californians, however, remain the most targeted group when it comes to reported hate crimes.
Nearly 48% of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults in California reported experiencing a hate incident in 2024, according to Stop AAPI Hate research. Most incidents were not criminal, leaving survivors with little recourse through the legal system.
That gap is precisely where AAPI Equity Alliance and its partners focus their work. The Stop the Hate framework prioritizes non-carceral responses, recognizing that policing alone often fails survivors and can further harm Black, brown, and immigrant communities.
Instead, the work centers on data and research, policy advocacy, community care, and public education. Through school-based programs, legal advocacy, emergency assistance, and survivor-centered services, the network aims to interrupt cycles of harm before they escalate.
For survivors like Garner and Roque, that support has made the difference between enduring trauma in silence and finding a path toward healing and collective power.
“When people experience hate, there’s often a profound sense of isolation,” Bhalla said. “This work helps people get back to school, back to work, back to their lives. It reminds them they’re not alone.”
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.
Advice
Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College
While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.
Sponsored by JPMorganChase
As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.
If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.
Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.
Understand what causes financial stress
While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.
2. Determine your financial priorities
Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.
3. Create a plan and stick to it
While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.
4. Pay down debt
Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.
5. Build your financial resilience
Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.
6. Seek help and support
Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.
The bottom line
Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC
© 2026 JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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