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California Congressional Black Caucus Launches Statewide Reparations Education Campaign

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Reginald Jones-Sawyer, a member of the reparations task force, illustrated the urgency of the matter with a compelling analogy: “If you were to buy something, and then later on, you find out that it was stolen property, you wouldn’t keep that property. You wouldn’t take advantage of it. Well, the labor of African Americans was stolen for centuries. And now we’re asking for us to restore our dignity, restore what was taken from us. And any legal system would tell you that is the appropriate measure that you should take. And I think any American, once they are educated, would understand why it’s so important to have reparations.”
The post California Congressional Black Caucus Launches Statewide Reparations Education Campaign first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

A recent poll by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) revealed that California residents have differing opinions on cash reparations for Black people. In response, the state’s Congressional Black Caucus intends to launch a campaign across the state to educate citizens about the significance of reparations for Black communities affected by slavery. Caucus members said the campaign will push for direct financial compensation for African Americans.

A survey by the Berkeley IGS found that 60% of California voters believe that the legacy of slavery is still impacting the current situation of Black residents in the state. Approximately 20% say they see some effect, and 13% say they see little.

The views compare to 31% who don’t think it has any impact. Further, the opinions of Democrats and liberals diverge considerably from those of Republicans and conservatives. Most Democrats and liberals in the state believe that the legacy of slavery has a significant or at least some impact on the lives of Black residents. In contrast, about two in three Republicans and conservatives take the opposite view and think the legacy has no effect today.

Most California voters (59% to 28%) oppose the state Reparations Task Force’s recommendations to provide cash payments to the descendants of enslaved Black people, according to the poll.

“The findings reveal California voters’ racial, political contradictions,” IGS co-director Cristina Mora said in a news release. “While many can empathize with the plight of Black Americans, not all these feelings will translate into support for policies that address longstanding racial harms. And though this might be an information issue for some groups, the fact that even liberals are divided indicates that campaigns for racial redress will face a steep uphill climb.”

Reginald Jones-Sawyer, a member of the reparations task force, emphasized that the poll results show a big lack of awareness about California’s long history of slavery and other forms of racism that have caused lasting harm to Black families.

“Polls can be skewed because usually enough information isn’t given to the people so that they don’t have a full understanding of what’s going on,” Jones-Sawyer told NBC News. “If each individual that they polled had read that 400-page document we did last year, which proved how California was complicit in chattel slavery, and read the 1,100-page document that we printed out this year, which talked about what reparations should be, there’s absolutely no way you would believe that [there] shouldn’t be some type of compensation.”

To bridge this knowledge gap, Jones-Sawyer said the Black Caucus would initiate a fundraising campaign to secure the services of a firm that delivers “clear, concise, and direct messaging” about the report. He emphasized the need to combat efforts to undermine the task force’s findings.

A big challenge is educating the members of the California Assembly. They are expected to sponsor legislation based on a 1,000-page report published in June by the task force. The state Reparations Task Force report addressed many areas and advocated for over 100 statewide policies to rectify generations of discrimination.

The text does not specify the amount of money that will be given to individuals who can prove their ancestry as either enslaved African Americans or free African Americans before 1900.

Jones-Sawyer illustrated the urgency of the matter with a compelling analogy: “If you were to buy something, and then later on, you find out that it was stolen property, you wouldn’t keep that property. You wouldn’t take advantage of it. Well, the labor of African Americans was stolen for centuries. And now we’re asking for us to restore our dignity, restore what was taken from us. And any legal system would tell you that is the appropriate measure that you should take. And I think any American, once they are educated, would understand why it’s so important to have reparations.”

However, the absence of a specified monetary figure remains a point of contention for many within the Black community. Cathy Adams, president of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the importance of educating the public about the historical injustices.

“This isn’t about Black people looking for a check, a handout,” Adams told NBC. “This is bigger than that. The harms of slavery are real. We are dealing with a number of disparities and inequities in the Black community that stem from what was denied or taken from us, our ancestors.”

Denise Branch, an anti-racism educator and racial equity consultant, interpreted the poll results as indicative of lingering attitudes towards Black Americans. Branch argued that the lasting financial ramifications of slavery on Black communities cannot be dismissed.

The California Black Caucus is working with the Legislature on recommendations for reparations for Black Californians. They will involve the public in gathering insights and ideas to influence decision-makers. They plan to present their recommendations to Gov. Gavin Newsom in early 2024.

“Some of the best ideas we ever got did not come from elected officials, did not come from academics, did not come from a bureaucrat,” Jones-Sawyer affirmed. “They came from real people. And that’s going to be the thing that will get us over when we start talking to our fellow legislators about why this is so important and why they need to vote yes on it. We’re not going to get them all. But we don’t need them all. We just need the majority in the assembly. And I think we have a good clear path to that.”

The post California Congressional Black Caucus Launches Statewide Reparations Education Campaign first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

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By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

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7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized.  “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of  America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”

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