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OPINION: Don’t Look Far. Honor the Black History Around You

We invite all Americans to celebrate Black History Month, too. It is all around us. There’s Black history to learn about in your neighborhoods, at your jobs, in your city and in your churches. Knowing about the struggles and contributions of Black Americans can enrich our understanding of each other and the hard-won freedoms Americans of all backgrounds often take for granted.

Published

4 years ago

March 1, 2022

Oakland Post

Chief John Keene, Chief Probation Officer for San Mateo County

By Chief John Keene, Special to California Black Media Partners

Happy Black History Month.

It seems media coverage of Black History Month this year is getting lost in the merry-go-round of breaking news stories– from shifting COVID guidelines and skyrocketing food and gas prices to shocking crime stories and growing concerns about our military getting involved in Ukraine. Add to that the constant distractions of TikTok, Facebook reels and other social media platforms all competing for our attention.

But whether or not the media gives Black History Month the attention it deserves, most African Americans realize how important it is to commemorate our history – and its important contribution to American history. So, we pause to honor our past, celebrate our forebears and pat ourselves on the back for the many contributions we have made to this country.

And we invite all Americans to celebrate Black History Month, too. It is all around us. There’s Black history to learn about in your neighborhoods, at your jobs, in your city and in your churches. Knowing about the struggles and contributions of Black Americans can enrich our understanding of each other and the hard-won freedoms Americans of all backgrounds often take for granted.

As the chief probation officer for San Mateo County, and as the current president of the Chief Probation Officers of California, I have a very important responsibility in the positions that I hold to sustain a legacy built by many before me who have paved the way.

In probation, as in society, it is vital that all cultures are recognized, and Black history is no different. It is important for our deputies and staff to know that the path to get here was paved by the trials and tribulations of the people before us.

Most African Americans in the 1940s and 1950s were limited to opportunities within correctional facilities and did not have the opportunities to start off as deputy probation officers or elevate to that rank. Shockingly, the first Black deputy probation officers and staff were not widely known to be employed around the country until the 1970s and 1980s.

Today, over 20% of deputy probation officers in California are African American. That diversity extends to gender (51% are women), and other races as well (72% of deputy probation officers are non-white).

Probation today is even further diversified by educational backgrounds (the majority of officers have four-year degrees), and many probation departments employ former justice system-involved individuals. Importantly, Probation’s diversity also extends to our leadership with just over 10% of probation chiefs in California being African American.

On the shoulders of African American pathbreakers, we take our seats as leaders of our profession with honor and humility. For me, the weight of leading the association of the leaders of our profession is a reflection of the important role of Black History in probation that has led to the diversity and inclusion we see now.

The weight and responsibility of this history, I carry proudly.

With that diversity comes cultural competency and lived experiences. That understanding and sensibility equips probation to be an indispensable aspect of the criminal justice system.

It is the connection between punishment and rehabilitation, breaking down barriers to help justice-involved people turn their lives around and leave the system permanently – creating long-term, sustainable safety in our communities. It is also what attracts even greater diversity to our ranks: this desire to help people succeed.

As a former police officer, attorney, deputy probation officer and now hief, my experience has helped me tremendously in feeling a sense of empathy for the life experiences of the people we serve. It has helped me understand the challenges of young people I talk to with who have had tough upbringings. As African Americans, working through barriers is something that we know first-hand and reducing barriers is a central component to rehabilitation.

Often, we must even go beyond that to see the difference between rehabilitation and habilitation, or helping someone who has only known a difficult life to gain the tools to create a new one that sets them on a healthier path. To help them succeed, we as probation officers often become much more – serving as teachers, mentors and role models.

Sometimes the people we serve think the challenges they face are unique to them, but we can often relate because we too have lived many of those experiences or we have encountered them within our own backgrounds. It breaks the ice, builds points of connection, reduces barriers, and opens a moment for them to pause and listen and let their guard down to learn and grow.

Now, in my new role as president of the Chief Probation Officers of California, I do this work on a broader scale, often working through policy conversations and larger fiscal decisions and assessing their implications.

My work in these positions continues to be informed by my own unique background, experiences, and cultural understandings. Black History Month gives us the space and time to reflect on how we got here, but also where we would like to go. It is my privilege to be in a position now to help shape that future for my own children and their children.

Chief John Keene was appointed chief probation officer of San Mateo County in June of 2013. Chief Keene brings more than 20 years of law enforcement experience to his role. Prior to his appointment as Chief, he served as deputy chief probation officer in Alameda County.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 8 – 14, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 8 – 14, 2026

Published

2 days ago

July 12, 2026

Oakland Post

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Diabetes in Black California: Turning the Tide from Crisis to Control

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, nearly 17.9% of Black adults in California have been diagnosed with diabetes — above the national Black adult average of 16.8%, and nearly five points higher than California’s overall adult rate of 12.6% across all races. California ranks 24th out of 39 states with available data for Black adult diabetes rates.

Published

1 week ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. Khadijah Lang is a family physician with a clinic in Los Angeles who specializes in several family medical practices, including prenatal care. Lang believes in family medicine. She says it is important to treat all members of a family. Thursday, June 5, 2026. Photo by Solomon O. Smith/California Black Media.

By Charlene Muhammad, California Black Media

Crystal Lambert knew something was terribly wrong with her three-year-old granddaughter as she sped down the street trying to get her to the hospital.

“I thought she got a hold of some poison,” Lambert recalled.

Doctors found Lambert’s granddaughter had a blood sugar level over 800, diagnosing her with Diabetic Ketoacidosis(DKA), a state in which the body, starved of insulin, begins to shut down.

Lambert said she was born with a pancreas that was not fully functioning — it lacked the specialized cells required to produce insulin.

Her granddaughter survived and is five years old today. Now, she gives herself insulin shots, asks endless questions about her condition, and runs like the spirited child she is. But the terror of that night transformed Lambert — and ultimately inspired her to launch the We Fight Back Organization, a mobile health and food access initiative serving underserved communities across California. Lambert is the executive director.

The Crisis by the Numbers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, nearly 17.9% of Black adults in California have been diagnosed with diabetes — above the national Black adult average of 16.8%, and nearly five points higher than California’s overall adult rate of 12.6% across all races. California ranks 24th out of 39 states with available data for Black adult diabetes rates.

Nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black Americans were 24% more likely than the overall U.S. population to have diabetes in 2024. They also died from diabetes 78% more often than the general population in 2022. Black Americans are also more than twice as likely as the overall population to develop kidney failure caused by diabetes.

According to the California Health Care Foundation’s 2024 Health Disparities Almanac, Black Californians have the shortest life expectancy in the state at just 74.6 years — due in part to chronic conditions like diabetes and its devastating complications.

Leon Rock, co-founder of the African American Diabetes Association, believes statistics, though revealing, only tell part of the story.

“There are a whole bunch of Black folks that don’t tell you that they have diabetes — or don’t know,” he said.

And the disease itself, Rock is careful to note, is not what kills. “They die from the complications. That’s heart attack, that’s stroke, that’s amputations of legs, of feet. Going blind. All those complications are inherent in a system that has impacted Black folks with diabetes in California and across America.”

Crystal Lambert, creator and executive director of We Fight Back. She started the organization out of a need to learn more about diabetes on behalf of her granddaughter. Now she is looking to spread the impact of her organization to the valley. Friday, June 6, 2026. Photo by Solomon O. Smith/California Black Media.

Crystal Lambert, creator and executive director of the We Fight Back Organization, started out of a need to learn more about diabetes on behalf of her granddaughter. Now she is looking to spread her organization to the valley, on Friday, June 6, 2026 Photo by Solomon O. Smith/ California Black Media

An Information Gap Fuels the Crisis

For Rock, part of the solution is diagnosis. He says the medical and public health systems are failing Black Californians by the absence of information designed for them.

“That is the bottom line. We need good information. Information that is culturally specific,” said Rock.

Telling people to eat healthy or exercise, he added, falls short when culturally specific alternatives are not provided, and when many residents of urban communities do not feel safe exercising in some neighborhoods – or outside at night.

Dr. Khadijah Lang, a family medicine physician and president of the Golden State Medical Association, agrees that the roots of the crisis run deeper than individual behavior — and blaming patients misses the point.

“We are not genetically predisposed to diabetes,” Lang said. “But the system under which we live increases the likelihood that we will develop it.”

What the Body Needs — What Communities Are Denied

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90 to 95% of all diabetes cases, according to the CDC, develops when the body can no longer use insulin effectively to regulate blood sugar. Left unmanaged, it damages nerves, kidneys, eyes, and the cardiovascular system. The hemoglobin A1C test is a blood draw that reveals how the body has processed sugar over the previous three months — not just at the moment of the test. It is the standard tool for both diagnosis and ongoing monitoring.

That distinction matters, Lang emphasized, because patients cannot manipulate three months of blood sugar history the way they might fast for a day before a single blood draw.

“The pill is not meant to undo or control a sugar level that’s being constantly stressed,” Lang said. “It’s meant to work in conjunction with a low-carbohydrate diet and exercise.” She recommended at minimum 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week — breakable into 10-minute sessions for those who need it.

Lang stressed that education must be delivered in language people recognize and can relate to. The goal is to inform them of the choices that serve their health best, she said.

But for many Black Californians, even those informed choices remain out of reach, Lambert said.

“They need access to healthy foods and medication, too” she said.

California has made some critical policy advances. The state has expanded access to the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), which has transformed diabetes care for state residents. Assembly Bill 365, introduced in 2024, proposed requiring Medi-Cal to cover the costs of CGM and other related medical equipment but it failed in the State Senate. Since then, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) reports that the core Medi-Cal CGM benefit now available to eligible patients was solidified through previous budget actions and pharmacy policy updates.

These measures, while meaningful, have not closed the gap for the communities most at risk, according to advocates.

Control Through Community

Health care advocates conclude that the solution must be communal, culturally grounded, and sustained — not a fad, not a celebrity moment, not a single clinic visit. For example, observed Lang, lifestyle shaped by shared values and collective accountability can move the needle where individual prescriptions have not.

Rock is building infrastructure to match the urgency, establishing local chapters of the African American Diabetes Association across the country, with California next.

“We have to do for self, period,” he said. “Health is wealth. We have to eat to live.”

And Lambert, whose granddaughter unknowingly started all of this for her, keeps showing up.

“Diabetes advocacy is about dignity, education, prevention, and hope,” she said.

Video: Diabetes Disparity Exposed in California

This article is supported by the California Health Care Foundation

(CHCF). Visit www.chcf.org