Economics

Greenlining Institute Examines “Racial Justice on the Frontlines”

Published

9 years ago

April 18, 2017

The Greenlining Institute brought its 24^th annual Economic Summit to the organization’s new hometown of Oakland April 14.

At a moment when communities of color are under attack nationwide, the summit – which brings together community leaders and grassroots organizers from California and around the U.S. — felt surprisingly like a celebration: a celebration of defiance, resistance and persistence in the face of threats to our communities.

“We have the power to write the next chapter in history,” Greenlining Institute President Orson Aguilar said in his remarks at the summit’s opening session. “We can ensure California is a model democracy. We have the power and passion to write the next chapter of this nation.”

A powerful poem by Chinaka Hodge set up the opening discussion of the day’s theme, “Racial Justice on the Frontlines.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza moderated, noting that “while our communities have always been fighting … this is a new moment” with unique challenges.

“Our strategies also have to change,” she said.

Much of the discussion that followed emphasized grassroots strategies and one-on-one communication. Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said, “If all of the people in this room talk to 5, 10, 20 people, that’s how you build power.”

“We are vulnerable because of the color of our skin,” added United We Dream co-founder Cristina Jiménez. “My brother was stopped and frisked at the age of 11. … White supremacy has been unleashed across the nation.”

Breakout sessions focused the ongoing fight to preserve healthcare as President Trump and Congress continue to attack the Affordable Care Act, innovative strategies to build wealth in communities of color, and the role of race and ethnicity in the climate justice movement.

The most crowded session – which included Post Publisher Paul Cobb – looked at Uber’s impending arrival in Oakland and what the company’s ever-changing plans might mean for a diverse city struggling with gentrification and displacement.

Each year, Greenlining gives awards to leaders who are working on behalf of communities of color. This year’s Torchbearer Award – honoring a graduate of Greenlining’s Leadership Academy – went to San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner Matt Haney. Haney – who last year raised the question of renaming San Francisco schools that are named after slaveholders – pointedly cited textbooks that treat U.S. history as nothing but “a series of powerful white men” as a classic example of “rewriting history” to exclude people of color.

Disruptive Advocate Awards – given to leaders showing exceptional leadership and courage – went to Kim Carter, executive director of Time for Change; Dr. David C. Lizárraga, chairman of the TELACU Foundation; Sammy Nunez, executive director of Fathers and Families of San Joaquin; and Jane Kim, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and also a Greenlining Leadership Academy alum.

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Business

California Launches Study on Mileage Tax to Potentially Replace Gas Tax as Republicans Push Back

Under current law, California depends heavily on revenue from the gas tax to fund roads, highways, and infrastructure, but those revenues are projected to shrink as electric vehicle use grows and overall gasoline consumption drops. The mileage study would look at a “road charge” system where drivers pay based on how many miles they drive, rather than how much gas they buy.

Published

5 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City is the author of AB 1421. File photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

California lawmakers are moving forward with a study to explore a mileage-based tax as a potential replacement for the state’s traditional gas tax — a shift supporters say is driven by declining fuel tax revenues as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

The research, tied to Assembly Bill (AB) 1421, would extend and support work by the state’s Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee through 2035.

The bill does not yet enact a new tax. Instead, it extends the study and advisory work until 2035 and would have the Legislature receive findings and recommendations, with a report due by Jan. 1, 2027.

Republicans in the California Legislature have been vocal in their opposition. Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora criticized the proposal.

“We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive,” Flora said. “Piling on another tax right now shows just how out of touch politicians in Sacramento are with the reality working families face.”

The plan has drawn broader GOP criticism from leaders outside the Legislature as well. California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton called a mileage fee “absolutely outrageous” and said, if elected, he would veto the tax, adding that tracking and charging drivers for every mile is unacceptable.

Supporters say the study is a pragmatic response to long-term funding challenges.

On the Assembly Floor on Jan. 29, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City), the bill’s author, said that California’s transportation funding is “becoming less stable, less equitable, and less sustainable as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles.”

“Drivers using the same roads often pay different amounts for that use,” Wilson continued. “Low income and rural commuters who must drive farther and less efficient vehicles can pay more while others contribute less despite roadway impacts.”

Wilson and other supporters contend that a per-mile road charge could ensure that all drivers contribute fairly to the costs of maintaining roads, regardless of the type of vehicle they drive.