Activism

New Racial Justice Bureau at California Dept. of Justice Will Support State’s Reparations Task Force

“Throughout California’s history, too many of us have felt the sting of hate and discrimination,” said Bonta. “The fact is: No part of California is immune to hate. Too many Asian, Latino, Black, Native American, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh Californians all across the state are hurting.”

Published

4 years ago

May 18, 2021

Mia Lane

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on May 11 that he has created a new bureau within the Department of Justice (DOJ) dedicated to fighting discrimination and investigating hate crimes.

Bonta said the new Bureau of Racial Justice, which will be housed under the Civil Rights Enforcement Section, will also support the California task force that the state has charged with studying the impact of slavery and Jim Crow and coming up with reparations recommendations for Blacks in California and around the country.

In September last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 3121 into law. The legislation, introduced by current California Secretary of State Shirley Weber when she served in the Assembly, requires the state to set up the task force.

Bonta has not yet spelled out how the bureau will contribute to the state’s reparations efforts, but he stressed the urgency of creating it.

According to the DOJ, the bureau will focus on six areas: hate crimes and organizations; implicit and explicit bias in policing; law enforcement best practices; campus climate issues; and the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans.

Bonta says the DOJ will work with the Big City Mayors, a group of officials from the state’s 13 largest cities, on its anti-discrimination and anti-hate crime initiatives. The cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San José, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Riverside, Santa Ana, and Stockton.

At the end of this month, the DOJ says Bonta will host a virtual meeting with the Big City Mayors.

“Drawing on the expertise of local elected leaders, the virtual convening will seek to raise awareness around regional concerns involving hate crimes, support those who have been impacted by hate, and secure commitments for direct action across California,” the DOJ said in a statement.

The California Legislative Black Caucus welcomed the news. The group, comprised of African American members of the State Legislature, said “California, after its acceptance into the union in 1850 until the end of slavery in 1865, actively supported the enslavement of Blacks.”

The CLBC says the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations will increase understanding among Californians at a time when racial and political divisions divide Americans.

“As chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, I am humbled to be a part of this groundbreaking task force and look forward to having the difficult but necessary conversations on the age of enslavement here in California and across the nation,” said Sen. Steve Bradford (D-Gardena), who is also chair of the CBLC and a member of the reparations task force.

“The remnants of slavery and Jim Crow are still alive and well today and need to be addressed. We have found ways to not only apologize but also provide reparations to every group wronged in America and around the world except for African American descendents of slavery,” Bradford pointed out.

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Activism

The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.