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California Democratic Party Adopts Platform Language Prioritizing Black Student Achievement

The shift in the education plank of the 2022 Democratic Party Platform is consistent with a change in public sentiment in which there is renewed focus on meeting the specific needs of Black students. The changing tides are brought on by the racial reckoning in America after the police killing of George Floyd and the growing frustration of parents during pandemic-related school closures.

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Margaret Fortune is president and CEO of Fortune School of Education.
Dr. Margaret Fortune is the President/CEO of Fortune School, a system of nine, K-12 public charter schools with over 2,300 students focused on closing the Black achievement gap by preparing students for college.

LET’S TALK BLACK EDUCATION

By Dr. Margaret Fortune, President, CEO Fortune School

On March 6, the California Democratic Party (CDP) adopted language brought forth by the CDP Black Caucus into the 2022 California Democratic Party Platform that supports California’s Black students. This unprecedented move by the CDP is a monumental win for those who support prioritizing Black student achievement and recognizing the unique and important needs of Black students in K-12 public schools.

Among the amendments put forth by the CDP Black Caucus and adopted by delegates at the Party’s state convention is language calling on Democrats to “support all public school options that provide the parents and guardians of Black or African American, American Indian and Alaskan Native students access to high quality educational alternatives to close achievement gaps.”

The Caucus also won language to “work to increase the percentage of Black mothers who receive prenatal care and to decrease Black infant and maternal mortality.” The Caucus sought changes to the CDP platform because the 2020 platform excluded the unique and important needs of Black children.

In a statement, the Caucus thanked the CDP delegates, calling the newly adopted platform, “a significant step towards rectifying the core values of the Democratic Party — equality, opportunity, justice, and inclusivity for all — with the reality that Black students still face today.” The new platform will stay in place until 2024.

The Caucus thanked Party delegates for including changes in the 2022 California Democratic Party Platform to “specifically call out and address the needs of Black children and students as it relates to birth and beyond, school funding and closing yawning achievement gaps.”

The CDP Black Caucus said through its official statement to Party delegates, “Black students are subjected to harsh and disproportionate disciplinary actions. In addition, rising incidents of overt racism directed toward Black students in our schools are frequently the subject of news reports throughout California.”

Calling these conditions “unacceptable,” the Caucus demands for change were met by Democratic Party delegates voting to approve platform language to address their concerns head-on.

“We are very concerned, as all Democrats who care about Black children should be, that our schools leave over two-thirds of Black children unable to read or write at grade level. Nearly 80% are below grade level in math, and 86% are falling below science standards,” the Black Caucus wrote.

The shift in the education plank of the 2022 Democratic Party Platform is consistent with a change in public sentiment in which there is renewed focus on meeting the specific needs of Black students. The changing tides are brought on by the racial reckoning in America after the police killing of George Floyd and the growing frustration of parents during pandemic-related school closures.

“One of our core values is to educate,” said Calvin Harrell, president of the Community Democratic Club — one of the largest Democratic Clubs in Solano County. “We are proud to have been a part of the groups advocating for these important changes in the California Democratic Party Platform. This is a critical time to use our voices and push to make the necessary changes needed.”

The CDP Black Caucus was recognized by party officials at the state convention for its participation in a fair, public, and transparent process facilitated by the CDP Platform Committee to advocate for these important changes.

In the lead up to the March 4-6, 2022, State Democratic Convention, the Platform Committee facilitated an inclusive months-long process that began in the summer of 2021. The process was public and open to all Democrats. The CDP Black Caucus, participated in six hearings and had a diverse coalition of people representing various civil rights organizations, Democratic Clubs, delegates, central committee members, and Democrats from across California, most of them parents.

“The National Action Network has a longstanding commitment to ensuring equity in education in our nation and throughout the state of California. These important additions to the platform will help ensure we move towards high student achievement for all, particularly Black students,” said Rev. Darryl Scarbrough president of NAN Sacramento.

The California Democratic Black Caucus pledged to continue to fight for safe and culturally affirming educational environments that are free from overt and systemic racism. For more information on the work of the Black Caucus visit the website at https://cdpblackcaucus.org.

Dr. Margaret Fortune is the President/CEO of Fortune School, a system of nine, K-12 public charter schools with over 2,300 students focused on closing the Black achievement gap by preparing students for college.

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How the Crack Cocaine Epidemic Led to Mass Sex Exploitation of Black People PART 3: The Case Against SB357: Black, Vulnerable and Trafficked

Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.

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Sable tied up.
Sable tied up.

By Tanya Dennis and Vanessa Russell
Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.
It was 1980: The beginning of the end for the Black family and Black community as we knew it.
Crack cocaine was introduced to the United States that year and it rendered unparalleled devastation on Black folks. Crack is a solid smokable form of cocaine made by boiling baking soda, cocaine, and water into a rock that crackles when smoked.
The tremendous high — especially when first smoked — and the low cost brought temporary relief to the repeatedly and relentlessly traumatized members of the Black community.
What was unknown at the time was how highly addictive this form of cocaine would be and how harmful the ensuing impact on the Black family when the addicted Black mother was no longer a haven of safety for her children.
The form made it easy to mass produce and distribute, opening the market to anyone and everyone, including many Black men who viewed selling crack as their way out of poverty.
These two factors — addicted Black women and drug-dealing Black men — would lead to the street exploitation for sex as we know it today.
Encouraged to try it free initially, most poor, Black women in the 1980s used crack cocaine in a social setting with friends. When the free samples disappeared the drug dealer offered to supply the women crack in exchange for allowing him to sell their bodies to sex buyers.
The increase in the supply of women willing to exchange sex for crack — a.k.a. the “sex for crack barter system” — caused the price of sex to decrease and at the same time increased the demand for sex because more buyers could afford it.
The desperation of the women to get their hit of crack made them willing to endure any form of abuse and treatment from buyers during sex, including unprotected and violent sex.
It also pushed desperate Black women onto the street to pursue sex buyers, flagging down cars and willing to have sex anywhere actively and desperately. Street prostitution grew and buyers were able to buy oral sex for as little as $5.
This sex-for-crack barter system resulted in a dramatic increase in sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS, both of which are disproportionately represented among Black people.
It also resulted in unplanned pregnancies by unknown fathers, which then resulted in children born addicted to crack who were immediately placed in the foster care system where they were often abused and/or neglected.
For his part, the Black man who engaged in the mass production and distribution of crack was often killed by gun violence while fighting over drug territory or incarcerated for long periods of time as use and sales and distribution of crack carried longer sentences than powdered cocaine.
Crack unleashed an entire chain of new trauma upon the Black family which then all but collapsed under this latest social attack that had started with chattel slavery, followed by Jim Crow, redlining, school segregation, food deserts, et. al.
Exploitation was and is at the root of the crack cocaine epidemic. It is the latest weapon used to prey upon Black people since the beginning of our time in the United States.
The sex industry and legislation like SB357 have only increased harm to Black people who have been historically oppressed with racist laws and epidemics including crack. More must be done to restore the Black community.
Tanya Dennis serves on the Board of Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) and series co-author Vanessa Russell of “Love Never Fails Us” and member of OFH.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tanya-Leblanc/publication/236121038_Behind_the_Eight_Ball_Sex_for_Crack_Cocaine_Exchange_and_Poor_Black_Women/links/0c9605162c8f362553000000/Behind-the-Eight-Ball-Sex-for-Crack-Cocaine-Exchange-and-Poor-Black-Women.pdf?origin=publication_detail

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Oakland Post: Week of March 22 – 28, 2023

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March March 22 – 38, 2023

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 22 - 38, 2023

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Oakland Post: Week of March 15 – 21, 2023

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 15 – 21, 2023

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 15 - 21, 2023

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