Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌

California’s First African American Controller Malia Cohen Takes Office

“I am proud and honored to serve as California’s state controller,” said Malia M. Cohen. “The work to create a more equitable California has already begun. I look forward to ensuring fiscal accountability, with an eye toward transparency and innovation.

Published

4 years ago

January 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Malia Cohen was sworn in by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 3. Photo by Robert Maryland, California Black Media.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Last week, Malia M. Cohen was sworn in as the first Black woman — and first African American — to serve as California’s state controller.

On Monday, Jan. 2, the oath of office was administered by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“I am proud and honored to serve as California’s state controller,” said Cohen. “The work to create a more equitable California has already begun. I look forward to ensuring fiscal accountability, with an eye toward transparency and innovation.”

On Jan. 6, Cohen was given the oath of office by San Francisco Mayor London Breed with her husband Warren Pulley by her side.

The community event was held at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sacramento.

California now has three Black politicians holding Constitutional offices including Cohen. Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond are the others.

“Congratulations @MaliaCohen. As California’s first Black state controller, Malia has made history and continues to break barriers while helping build long-term equity throughout our communities. I’m confident she will continue fighting for the rights of all Californians,” Breed stated in a Jan. 6 post on her Twitter page.

“I am excited to get to work on creating a more equitable California as your next Controller,” Cohen tweeted on Jan. 6.

Cohen was elected to the California Board of Equalization (BOE) in November 2018 and was named chairperson in 2019 and 2022. As Controller, Cohen continues to serve BOE as its fifth voting member.

Prior to being elected to BOE, Cohen was president of the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. As a member of that body, she also served as the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and president of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS).

Cohen was born and raised in San Francisco. Her political journey, she says lightheartedly, began when she was elected class president of San Francisco’s Lowell High School, the oldest public high school on the West Coast.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Fisk University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and a master’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.

She and her husband reside in San Francisco along with their daughter.

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The controller also has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds.

Cohen’s duties include being a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds.

At the St. Paul Baptist Missionary Baptist Church swearing-in, Kenneth Reece, the senior pastor, gave the opening prayer.

Held at the church six miles from the State Capitol, Cohen’s swearing-in ceremony included prayers offered by Imam Yasir Kahn, the chaplain of the California State Assembly, and Rabbi Mona Alfi, the senior rabbi of Congregation B’Nai Israel.

Among the guests were Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), Director of Bay Area Rapid Transit Bevan Duffy, California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez, the singer Aloe Blacc and Jaqueline Thompson, pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland.

Cohen’s swearing-in was held on the second anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The day was packed with political activities in Sacramento and overshadowed by references to the infamous Capitol insurrection in Washington that shocked people across the country and around the world.

That day, Newsom was sworn in to a second term. Rob Bonta was also sworn-in for the first time as the state’s attorney general. He was appointed to the position by Newsom in March 2021.

Before Newsom’s outdoor ceremony, the governor, his wife, and four children led a march from West Sacramento, across the Tower Bridge, to the Capitol. During the governor’s address on the steps of the Capitol, he shared his feelings about the attack on the U.S. Capitol two years ago while addressing some of the state’s most pressing issues.

“Our politics doesn’t always reward taking on the hardest problems. The results of our work may not be evident for a long time. But that cannot be our concern,” Newsom said. “We will prepare for uncertain times ahead. We will be prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars, pay down debt, and meet our future obligations. And we will build and safeguard the largest fiscal reserve of any state in American history.”

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Shirley Weber Sworn in as California’s First Elected Black Secretary of State

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Black Leadership Council Recognizes Assemblymembers Bonta, Jackson for Leadership and Service

“The Black Leadership Council has been imprinted in my heart because I first met with you all when I was a first-year legislator and we talked about what we wanted for our children and our families,” Bonta said. “It’s just an incredible honor to receive this award and share this honor with my partner in this work, Dr. Corey Jackson.”

Published

3 months ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

The Black Leadership Council (BLC) Legislative Awards Luncheon took place in Sacramento on June 17. The event is a core component of the BLC's "Black in Action" Day of Advocacy. The initiative brings leaders from public and private sectors to the State Capitol to engage with policymakers and push for systemic solutions advancing Black prosperity in California. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

The Black Leadership Council (BLC) honored Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) and Dr. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) during its annual Legislative Awards Luncheon for their leadership in advancing racial justice, economic opportunity and community investment.

Both members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), Bonta received the Education Equity Champion Award, while Jackson was presented with the Wealth Equity Champion Award.

The luncheon was held June 17 at the Sutter Club in Sacramento following a morning of meetings between BLC members and CLBC senators, assemblymembers and Capitol staff.

“Whenever you’re in the same room and being honored alongside Oakland’s own Mia Bonta, you must be doing something right. One of the things that’s clear is that this nation needs Black leadership more than ever,” Jackson said.

Jackson was recognized for co-authoring legislation that expands economic opportunity, strengthens the social safety net and supports youth and vulnerable communities.

Bonta was honored for establishing the bipartisan California Legislative Children’s Caucus, a bicameral coalition that advocates for investments in childcare, health and education. The caucus promotes evaluating state budgets and public policy through the lens of children’s well-being.

BLC and the CLBC work together to translate community priorities into legislative action. Both lawmakers said the BLC was among the first organizations they met with after taking office.

Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-La Mesa) attended the luncheon to celebrate her legislative director, Jerika Edwards, who received the Next Generation Leadership Award. Sharp-Collins credited Edwards with building a distinguished record of civic engagement, public service, voting rights advocacy and social justice leadership.

Nikki A. Beasley, executive director of Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, received the Housing Equity Champion Award. Carol F. Burton, a health care, criminal justice and behavioral health executive, received the Health Equity Champion Award. BLC member Joya Chavarin, a California-based education researcher, was presented with the Trailblazer Award.

“The Legislative Awards Luncheon offers a valuable opportunity to recognize impactful legislators, their staff, and community leaders,” said Meron Agonafer, a member of the BLC Executive Committee.

Established by PRC, formerly the Positive Resource Center, the BLC is a statewide coalition dedicated to advancing policy and systems change in education, housing, health and justice. Its overarching mission is to achieve “Black prosperity” through statewide advocacy and public policy.

“The council targets a high volume of legislation,” said Dr. Deborah Hawkes, PRC’s chief executive officer, who oversees the BLC’s statewide strategy and community initiatives.

“Freedom means opportunities. It means access to quality education, stable housing, good health, economic security, and the ability for every person to thrive,” Hawkes said. “That work requires investments, it requires leaders who are willing to speak up, organizations that are going to do the work, and partners who are willing to sustain the movement.”

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Black Caucus Bill Requiring Major Corporations in California to Disclose Links to Slavery Moves Forward

“We have a public accounting of the ways that our civic institutions have benefited from chattel slavery and built wealth in the process,” said Asm. Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), vice chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC). “We even had cost estimates of what is true accounting for what that (wealth) would be.”

Published

3 months ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

Asm. Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), at the podium, presents Assembly Bill 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act, before the California Senate Judiciary Committee on June 24. The committee approved the measure on an 11-1 vote. The bill would require major corporations doing business in California with more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts to search their historical records and submit sworn affidavits disclosing any ties to chattel slavery. Seated on the committee are Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), left, and California Legislative Black Caucus Chair Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego). CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

In August 2000, the California Legislature confronted a little-known chapter of American history after records uncovered in the state archives revealed that, before the Civil War, some insurance companies issued policies to slaveholders that insured enslaved people against injury, death or escape, treating human beings as property.

That same year, former state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) authored Senate Bill 2199, landmark legislation requiring insurance companies doing business in California to disclose records of slaveholder insurance policies issued by them or their corporate predecessors.

More than two decades later, California lawmakers are seeking to expand that transparency.

Assembly Bill (AB) 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act, authored by Asm. Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), builds on the disclosure framework established by SB 2199. The measure would require certain large corporations to search their historical records and submit sworn affidavits, under penalty of perjury, disclosing documented ties to chattel slavery or profits derived from slavery.

On June 23, AB 2599 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), on an 11-1 vote. The measure now heads to the Senate Public Safety Committee.

“We have a public accounting of the ways that our civic institutions have benefited from chattel slavery and built wealth in the process,” said Bryan, vice chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC). “We even had cost estimates of what is true accounting for what that (wealth) would be.”

Bryan continued, “This bill is simply about disclosure. We’ve had a conversation about the private sector’s role in extracting that wealth, but this bill starts with that conversation around disclosure.”

Known as the Slavery Era Insurance Policies Act, Hayden’s SB 2199 required insurers licensed in California to examine their archives for antebellum policies covering slaveholders against the loss or death of enslaved people. The results were compiled by the California Department of Insurance.

AB 2599 would extend that transparency requirement beyond the insurance industry. It requires entities doing business in California with more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts to review their records for historical involvement in slavery-related transactions.

The bill specifically identifies industries historically tied to the slave economy, including textile, tobacco, railroad, shipping, rice, sugar, financial and insurance companies.

AB 2599 is the CLBC’s sole priority bill this legislative session, according to Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego), chair of the caucus and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Weber Pierson cited several financial institutions and insurance companies that have acknowledged or documented historical ties to slavery, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, New York Life, AIG and Aetna.

“This bill (AB 2599) is extremely important because it acknowledges that many disparities facing Black Americans did not happen by accident. It also talks about the fact that many of the economic opportunities that benefited major institutions did not also happen by accident — but by their participation in chattel slavery,” Weber Pierson said.

The bill’s primary co-sponsor is the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation and Truth. Other supporters include Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Healing Justice Santa Barbara, the Black Power Network, the Inland Empire Black Worker Center, LA Voice, the League of Women Voters of California and Starting Over Inc.

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The Ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Hold Day of Advocacy at the Capitol in Sacramento

A member of the “Divine Nine,” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on Jan. 13, 1913, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The organization was established by 22 women who sought to shift the group’s focus from social activities to public service, academic excellence, and social activism.

Published

5 months ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) presents a Senate resolution to the Delta Theta Sigma Sorority Farwest Region at the State Capitol on May 4. Photo courtesy of the Senate Rules Committee.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

On May 4, members of the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., convened at the California State Capitol for the organization’s 23rd annual Delta Days in Sacramento.

The two-day advocacy event brings together chapters from across California to engage directly in the legislative process, connect with lawmakers, and advocate for policies impacting Black communities.

Members of the sorority were honored on the Senate floor by Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro), who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Richardson welcomed the Farwest Region during the presentation of a Senate resolution recognizing outgoing Regional Director Kimberly Usher for her leadership and service.

“In addition to the Far West Region, we are led by a fearless leader, regional director Kimberly Usher. She has now served her full term of what’s allowed,” Richardson said. “We are going to be having our regional conference, but we wanted to give it to her here, officially recognizing her service.”

The resolution was co-authored by Richardson and fellow members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and Delta Sigma Theta, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton).

Usher has served in the leadership role since 2022.

“We are founded on sisterhood that is deeply rooted in scholarship, service, and social action,” said Weber Pierson, a member of the Gamma Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

“Today, we continue a legacy of empowering communities and upholding the high cultural, intellectual, and moral standards established by our founders over a century ago,” she added.