By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged Black and Latino Angelenos to resolve their differences constructively after a dispute over a Latino-led running event planned for Leimert Park escalated into racial hostility online.

“Los Angeles is strongest when we listen to one another, treat every community with respect and work through our differences constructively,” Bass said in a statement she shared on Facebook.

Barrio Athletics, a grassroots fitness organization founded by South Central Los Angeles native Henry Gallardo, planned a 5K for Sept. 6. Participants were initially scheduled to meet in Leimert Park before running along Crenshaw Boulevard. In a promotional video,an organizer said the group would “take over the streets of Leimert Park.”

The language drew objections from Black residents and community leaders, who said organizers had not adequately consulted local stakeholders. They were also concerned that the gathering, which included plans for a DJ and vendors, would disrupt the Leimert Park Sunday Marketplace and other scheduled activities.

Leimert Park is widely regarded as the cultural heart of Black Los Angeles. Its weekly marketplace, food vendors and drum circle have long provided an economic and cultural gathering place for Black residents. That history, compounded with lingering concerns about gentrification and the city’s declining Black population, intensified sensitivity to the event’s promotion.

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“This is a historic Black district which we fought for and built up, its arts district, its cultural hub,” KBLA radio host Dominique DiPrima told a local L.A. news station.

“You’re saying that you’re going to “take over” is sort of like the last stand for Black LA is problematic.”

In another widely circulated video, a woman warned organizers, “We don’t want you to come into Africa Town,” adding that they would be “met with resistance from the Black community.” A separate Black social media user suggested, “We should call ICE,” drawing condemnation amid federal immigration enforcement concerns affecting Latino communities.

Barrio Athletics said it did not condone “racism, violence or hate.” Black and Latino community organizers later joined the group for what local L.A. radio station KJLH described as a “tough but necessary conversation.” 

KJLH posted a video of the discussion.

Following “careful conversation with community leaders,” Barrio Athletics relocated the run to Elysian Park “to respect Leimert Park and the surrounding community.”

Bass denied claims that she had ordered the move, saying she had not known about the dispute before its resolution.

“Bringing people across racial, cultural and neighborhood lines together has been the foundation of my life’s work,” Bass said, “and it continues to guide how I lead this city today.”

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By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

A California rule requiring an unrelated adult man living with a family receiving welfare benefits to contribute financially to the household could be repealed if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs Senate Bill (SB) 1030 into law.

Authored by Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), SB 1030 would eliminate the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) “Unrelated Adult Male,” or UAM, rule. Smallwood-Cuevas called the policy “outdated” and “harmful,” saying it relies on gender stereotypes and subjects families to intrusive surveillance.

The Assembly approved the bill 77-0 on Aug. 19, followed by a 40-0 Senate concurrence vote five days later. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the measure.

“This is a law that helped divide our families. This is a rule that separated us from our mothers, fathers, and restricted men’s access to their families mainly because of the discriminatory practices of public housing systems back in the 1960s and 1970s,” said Smallwood-Cuevas, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC).

Under Section 11351.5 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, an unrelated adult man living with a family applying for or receiving CalWORKs must make a financial contribution based on his income and expenses. He and the mother must disclose their household expense-sharing arrangement under penalty of perjury. Benefits may be discontinued if either person knowingly refuses to cooperate.

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SB 1030 would repeal those requirements beginning July 1, 2027, or later if the state’s welfare computer system is not ready to implement the change.

Smallwood-Cuevas, a veteran journalist who has written about families relying on public assistance, said the law should be modernized as low-income households confront rising housing and food costs and broader economic uncertainty.

“We wanted to take that law off the books that limited men from being in the home with their families. We recognize Donald Trump is in the White House, and he will use all of the racist tools of the past to discriminate and surveil,” Smallwood-Cuevas told California Black Media (CBM).

Smallwood-Cuevas also told the Assembly Human Services Committee that SB 1030 was a priority of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.

“Historically, the man in the house rule was disproportionately applied to Black women, women of color, reflecting a broader racialized system of surveillance and negative stereotypes and narratives. We know that was embedded in some of our early welfare policies,” Smallwood-Cuevas said.

“Man-in-the-house” policies emerged from state welfare programs during the early and mid-20th century. They were later applied under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), a federal assistance program established by the Social Security Act of 1935.

For decades, some state welfare agencies denied assistance to low-income families if an able-bodied man lived in or regularly visited the home, treating him as a substitute father whether he was legally or financially responsible for the children or not.

Smallwood-Cuevas compared the rule’s effect on Black families to the welfare policies depicted in the 1974 film “Claudine”, starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones.

“In this environment with unemployment rates, shutting down of industries that employ, particularly men in our communities, sometimes men can’t contribute financially, but that doesn’t mean they don’t contribute to our families,” she said. “These laws shouldn’t divide and separate our families, and this is what this rule has done for so many years.”

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By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

A California rule requiring an unrelated adult man living with a family receiving welfare benefits to contribute financially to the household could be repealed if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs Senate Bill (SB) 1030 into law.

Authored by Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), SB 1030 would eliminate the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) “Unrelated Adult Male,” or UAM, rule. Smallwood-Cuevas called the policy “outdated” and “harmful,” saying it relies on gender stereotypes and subjects families to intrusive surveillance.

The Assembly approved the bill 77-0 on Aug. 19, followed by a 40-0 Senate concurrence vote five days later. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the measure.

“This is a law that helped divide our families. This is a rule that separated us from our mothers, fathers, and restricted men’s access to their families mainly because of the discriminatory practices of public housing systems back in the 1960s and 1970s,” said Smallwood-Cuevas, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC).

Under Section 11351.5 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, an unrelated adult man living with a family applying for or receiving CalWORKs must make a financial contribution based on his income and expenses. He and the mother must disclose their household expense-sharing arrangement under penalty of perjury. Benefits may be discontinued if either person knowingly refuses to cooperate.

SB 1030 would repeal those requirements beginning July 1, 2027, or later if the state’s welfare computer system is not ready to implement the change.

Smallwood-Cuevas, a veteran journalist who has written about families relying on public assistance, said the law should be modernized as low-income households confront rising housing and food costs and broader economic uncertainty.

“We wanted to take that law off the books that limited men from being in the home with their families. We recognize Donald Trump is in the White House, and he will use all of the racist tools of the past to discriminate and surveil,” Smallwood-Cuevas told California Black Media (CBM).

Smallwood-Cuevas also told the Assembly Human Services Committee that SB 1030 was a priority of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.

“Historically, the man in the house rule was disproportionately applied to Black women, women of color, reflecting a broader racialized system of surveillance and negative stereotypes and narratives. We know that was embedded in some of our early welfare policies,” Smallwood-Cuevas said.

“Man-in-the-house” policies emerged from state welfare programs during the early and mid-20th century. They were later applied under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), a federal assistance program established by the Social Security Act of 1935.

For decades, some state welfare agencies denied assistance to low-income families if an able-bodied man lived in or regularly visited the home, treating him as a substitute father whether he was legally or financially responsible for the children or not.

Smallwood-Cuevas compared the rule’s effect on Black families to the welfare policies depicted in the 1974 film “Claudine”, starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones.

“In this environment with unemployment rates, shutting down of industries that employ, particularly men in our communities, sometimes men can’t contribute financially, but that doesn’t mean they don’t contribute to our families,” she said. “These laws shouldn’t divide and separate our families, and this is what this rule has done for so many years.”

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