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Oakland Activist Carroll Fife Reflects on Her Experience at Democratic National Convention

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Now that the dust and balloons from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) have settled, local activist Carroll Fife, who attended the four-day gathering as a Bernie Sanders representative on the DNC Platform Committee, is back home in Oakland with experiences to share. 

 

“It was so interesting to see the dynamics inside of the party,” said Fife. “You have the nomination of the nation’s first woman candidate for president, and then you see another group of people who still feel disillusioned by the whole process even in light of a historic event like that.”

 

At the convention in July 25 – July 28 in Philadelphia, Fife worked alongside fellow activists, state and federal officials, celebrities, workers and many others to address the county’s most critical issues.

 

Among the many events she attended, Fife highlighted a particularly memorable panel discussion with actress Rosario Dawson on race relations in America.

 

“It was probably one of the best panel-type workshops that I attended the entire time,” said Fife. “There was a real discussion about what’s happening in this country right now.”

 

She also recalled an event hosted by Congresswoman Barbara Lee and actor and activist Danny Glover where Bernie Sanders spoke.

 

“I was excited for (Bernie) to see down-ballot candidates for state, assembly, school board, and for local grassroots efforts,” she said. “That to me was amazing, and the fact that he is going back to the Senate as a democratic socialist took the sting out of him endorsing Hillary because a lot of people were disillusioned.”

 

Still, many parts of the event – including what Fife described as a “very conservative” convention – floor left her feeling disappointed.

 

“There was very little room for dialogue. I think when we get into a “lesser of two evils” discussion about who to vote for, it really minimizes the discussion and doesn’t leave room for creative thinking or even questioning what is needed in our society,” she said.

 

Prior to arriving in Philadelphia for the convention, Fife spent three days in Orlando, Fla. working with the platform committee.

 

Many local residents contributed money to help Fife attend the convention and platform committee meetings to ensure that Oakland views and interests were represented at the national level.

 

Along with other committee members in Orlando, she was responsible for molding the final draft of the platform that was later delivered to the DNC.

 

According to Fife, the two biggest areas of disagreement in the platform committee were around the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and single-payer healthcare.

 

“We wanted to try to gain some ground on and get the amendments we felt were more in alignment with what the American people need,” she said.

 

Though unsuccessful in getting some of Sanders’ amendments passed, many supporters are still calling this year’s platform the most progressive in the Democratic Party history.

 

However, Fife said she remains skeptical.

 

“I’m more of a radical thinker…and politics operates as it does because that’s what’s needed to maintain the status quo,” she said. “When you ask me what needs to be done, I would say there needs to be a complete political revolution for things to operate differently, not Band-Aids on bullet holes.”

Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌

Black Leaders, Political Orgs, Sound Alarm About Project 2025

With the general elections just a few days away, Black organizations and leaders, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), are sounding the alarm about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “policy bible.” The four-pillar initiative includes a detailed blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration – making way for a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.

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By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media 

With the general elections just a few days away, Black organizations and leaders, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), are sounding the alarm about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “policy bible.”

The four-pillar initiative includes a detailed blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration – making way for a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.

Waters has been outspoken in her opposition of the 900-page policy.

Recently, she shared “The People’s Guide to Project 2025” with the Inglewood Area Ministers Association, an organization of predominantly Black pastors, to inform them about the proposal’s impact, emphasizing that its influence would reach beyond the traditional spheres of presidential power. The 15-term politician from Los Angeles shared her sentiments with the House Financial Services Committee in July.

“Project 2025 promotes radical ideals to materially undermine the Federal Reserve, if not effectively abolish it,” Waters said.

Written by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 was developed with the input of a broad coalition of conservative organizations and is organized around four pillars: Policy, Personnel, Training, and the 180-Day Playbook. The proposals in the document aim to revamp every aspect of the U.S. government.

Waters is not the only person sounding the alarm about Project 2025’s agenda. Grassroot organizations in California and across the nation are preparing to combat the initiative despite who wins the election between Trump and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

The National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD), members of advocacy groups in California, and other Black political organizations across the nation are drawing up policy documents to counter the conservative Project 2025 initiative.

On Aug. 2, NAASD hosted a nationwide ZOOM conference call to discuss policies that concern Black communities.  Nocola Hemphill, the president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Black Women’s Chamber, and grassroots organizations on the call are promoting what they call, #Reparations2025.

“I just want us to think about bringing all policies (ideas) together when we think about Project 2025,” said Hemphill, who lives in South Carolina. “I am excited about the possibility of us forming our own version of Project 2025 and having it published by the November election.”

NAASD is a nonprofit association of community activists from across the country that formed around May 2019.

Los Angeles resident Khansa “Friday” Jones Muhammad is the president of NAASD.

“The National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD) envisions a nation where African American descendants of US slavery can fully exercise their constitutional citizenship rights and have economic agency for generations,” Muhammad told California Black Media (CBM).

While forming an agenda for #Reparation2025, NAASD has created a survey to determine how systemic racism and discrimination in the United States have affected Black American lives and single out options to repair harms through public policy. Participants in the survey would help the organization shape a national blueprint.

“During this election cycle, it is imperative that national Black organizations come together for collective success,” Muhammad shared with CBM. “While the vote for President of the United States is important, we need to also focus on other active projects such as ‘Project 2025,’ Supreme Court rulings around race and more.”

Muhammad added, “NAASD’s Black experience survey allows for individuals, Black organizations, and their allies to forge a pathway to reparations by utilizing community-building and policy.”

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California Black Media

Biden Appoints Black San Diego Attorney to California District Court Judgeship

On Oct. 23, President Joe Biden nominated two judges to vacant federal judgeships in Southern California: Judge Serena Murillo and Judge Benjamin Cheeks. Both appointments are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation next month.

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On Oct. 23, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Benjamin Cheeks to California Federal District Court Judgeship.
On Oct. 23, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Benjamin Cheeks to California Federal District Court Judgeship.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

On Oct. 23, President Joe Biden nominated two judges to vacant federal judgeships in Southern California: Judge Serena Murillo and Judge Benjamin Cheeks.

Both appointments are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation next month.

If confirmed, Cheeks, who is African American and a criminal defense attorney, will replace U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel. Before his appointment, Cheeks was in private practice at the Law Offices of Benjamin J. Cheeks, A.P.C. in San Diego from 2013 to 2024. From 2010 to 2013, Cheeks served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

The same day of the White House announcement, California’s U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Democrats, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, congratulated Murillo and Cheeks and commended Biden on his decision.

“I applaud President Biden for his continued commitment to nominating highly qualified, diverse judges to serve California,” said Padilla in a statement.

“Judge Cheeks has earned immense respect from his colleagues in the Southern District and has fought to protect vulnerable immigrants against fraud,” Padilla added.

Butler said, “Californians deserve a federal bench that reflects the diversity of the Golden State.

“I applaud the President’s nomination of Judge Serena Murillo and Judge Ben Cheeks to the United States District Courts for the Central District and Southern District of California, respectively. These two incredibly qualified candidates bring a breadth of both judicial and lived experienced to the federal bench, and I look forward to supporting their paths to confirmation,” she continued.

Murillo, who has been a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court since 2015. She also served by appointment of the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court as an Associate Justice pro tem on the California Court of Appeal from 2018 to 2019. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Murillo served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from 1997 to 2014. She received her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1996 and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego in 1993.

Cheeks earned his J.D. from the American University, Washington College of Law in 2003 and his B.A. from the University of Miami in Florida in 2000.

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Activism

Stop-the-Hate Message Shared with Tens of Thousands at Calif’s Largest Black-Themed Street Festival

Hundreds of thousands gathered at the 19th annual Taste of Soul Festival in Crenshaw — an event dubbed “California’s largest block party” — on Oct. 19. At the event, California Black Media (CBM) partnered with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) to spread the word about the California Vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime online resource and telephone hotline, launched in 2023.

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Office of the Civil Rights Staff and CBM Representative. Courtesy Photo.
Office of the Civil Rights Staff and CBM Representative. Courtesy Photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media  

 Hundreds of thousands gathered at the 19th annual Taste of Soul Festival in Crenshaw — an event dubbed “California’s largest block party” — on Oct. 19.

At the event, California Black Media (CBM) partnered with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) to spread the word about the California Vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime online resource and telephone hotline, launched in 2023.

“Held in the heart of south Los Angeles on Crenshaw Blvd, over half a million people attend the one-day event that brings out the best our community has to offer,” said Brandon Brooks, Stop the Hate project director at California Black Media.

The festival promotes local businesses as well as it brings out local and statewide resources to assist community members, Brooks continued. “The day has proven to be a great opportunity to speak to people directly and provide information to combat hate crimes and incidents.”

During the event, Brooks said he, James Williams, Community Based Organization Manger for California Vs. Hate and Leah Brown-Goodloe from CBM informed and shared literature with tens of thousands of festivalgoers about the state’s Stop the Hate resources.

CBM’s Stop the Hate outreach was held at the beginning of United Against Hate Week (UAHW), a commemoration held annually across the country to recognize the fight against all forms of hate.

UAHW was first launched in 2018 by elected leaders, staff, and community groups from 13 cities in the Bay Area who organized a “United Against Hate” poster campaign responding to White supremacists marching in Northern California streets in the aftermath of Charlottesville riots.

In 2018, Los Angeles County, LAvsHate, a campaign that provided anti-hate crime information and resources to report hate incidents and hate crimes.

According to CRD director Kevin Kish, the L.A. initiative provided a model for the state’s program.

Today, UAHW has grown into a national movement with events organized across the country to mark the day.

In June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released the2023 Hate Crime in California Report. According to the report, hate crimes in California decreased by 7.1% from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023.

However, incidents and crimes against Black Californians remained higher than average with 518 reported cases in 2023.

When it comes to reported hate crimes, we know that Black Californians are the most targeted group for hate and discrimination in our state,” said Williams.  “The California Civil Rights Department wants people to know that we are committed to reaching the Black community through outreach events and campaigns, including our first-ever billboard campaign, forging new partnerships, or increasing awareness about the hotline and available resources to historically hard-to-reach and underserved Californians.”

Williams said he wants to remind all Californians that there is “support when you report!”

“No matter your background or where you come from, if you’ve been targeted for hate, you can get help accessing legal, financial, mental health, and other services by calling 833-8-NO-HATE or by going to CAvsHate.org,” Williams added.

How To Report A Hate Crime:

CA vs Hate is a non-emergency, multilingual hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal. Reports can be made anonymously by calling (833) 866-4283, or 833-8-NO-HATE, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT or online at any time.

For more information on CA vs Hate, please visit CAvsHate.org.

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