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White House Officials Break Down Pres. Biden’s Build Back Better Plan

“How will Black-owned and minority-owned businesses benefit from trillions of taxpayer money being directed to cities and states?” asked Gene Hale, president of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce. “What kinds of mechanisms are in place – or will be put in place – to make sure that this money is distributed equitably. We cannot continue to just talk about equitable investments, we have to take concrete steps to make sure these programs reach the people around the country who need them most.”

Published

5 years ago

November 16, 2021

Oakland Post

Build Back Better will also invest in evidence-based community violence intervention to help reduce gun violence as well as the chances of violent police interactions in Black and Brown communities.

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

California is one of many states whose policies helped to shape President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Assistant to the President and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice.

The U.S. House of Representatives held a procedural vote on November 5 that cleared the way for a full floor vote on the legislation, which could happen as early as next week.

“California’s values will be on the national stage with the Build Back Better plan. @POTUS is creating good jobs, investing in clean energy to fight climate change, helping families through at-home elder, disability & childcare, universal pre-k, & more,” Newsom’s office tweeted about a week before the U.S. House of Representatives voted 228 to 206 to approve Biden’s other signature bill, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

The infrastructure bill and its companion Build Back Better Act are central pieces to the president’s plan to jump-start the U.S. economy and put it on the road to recovery after surviving a sharp downturn brought on by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation investment that’s going to create millions of jobs modernizing our infrastructure – our bridges, our roads, our broadband, a whole range of things,” said Biden last Saturday morning, celebrating the passage of the infrastructure bill that he is touting as “bipartisan.” Thirteen Republican members of the House broke ranks with their party and voted for the bill.

“(It turns) the climate crisis into an opportunity; and it puts us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21^st century that we face with China and other large countries and the rest of the world,” Biden said.

Rice held a press conference November 4 during which she discussed the Build Back Better plan and accompanying infrastructure investments. She praised California and other states for policies such as paid family medical leave and universal pre-K as “concepts that we believe are well proven that we want to take national.”

“I think the ideas and initiatives in here have many fathers and mothers,” Rice said in reference to the Build Back Better plan. “This legislation reflects in many ways what we think are the kinds of investments that we know reduce costs for families, that improve outcomes for children and their parents.”

The Build Back Better plan is a framework for investments and programs geared toward leveling the playing field on multiple fronts following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gene Hale, president of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce, praised the passage of the infrastructure plan and says he looks forward to the Build Back Better Act becoming law. But Hale says, for him and other Black business owners across the country, too many details remain unclear.

“How will Black-owned and minority-owned businesses benefit from trillions of taxpayer money being directed to cities and states?” Hale asked. “What kinds of mechanisms are in place – or will be put in place – to make sure that this money is distributed equitably. We cannot continue to just talk about equitable investments, we have to take concrete steps to make sure these programs reach the people around the country who need them most.”

Hale said Black leaders are organizing to hold the White House and California governor accountable as federal funds get funneled down to states and municipalities.

Some of the items the Build Back Better Act focuses on are climate change, healthcare, and community violence intervention.

During an exclusive interview with California Black Media, White House Senior Advisor for Public Engagement Trey Baker talked about how the infrastructure framework will aim to provide access to clean water in struggling communities.

“This is the companion piece of legislation that is going to bring everything from Build Back Better and also an Infrastructure Framework that is going to really go into helping communities to be able to pull all of the lead pipes out of the ground,” Baker said.

The framework’s historic $555 billion investment in combating climate change will be directed toward creating jobs, promoting environmental justice, and establishing a Civilian Climate Corps.

For African Americans and other minorities, Baker said he believes environmental justice has to be central to climate change initiatives.

“The big deal on climate and environmental justice issues is that we have to be on equal footing with other communities when it comes to the environment and the importance of caring about it in the first place,” Baker said.

Expressing his concerns about the plan, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), has said his fellow Democrats employed “shell games” and “budget gimmicks” to superficially reduce the cost of the framework just to get votes to pass it.

Rice responded by stating specific sections of the legislation she believed contributed to Manchin’s hesitation.

“As he said himself very clearly and publicly, we heard in our process of consultations and negotiations that Sen. Manchin is opposed to including paid family and medical leave in the reconciliation legislation. Now whether he changes his mind or comes to see it differently, we can certainly hope. But its inclusion at this point in the House bill is very consistent with our original desires, our priorities, and what we worked to try to accomplish in our consultations and negotiations with members of the Senate and the House,” Rice said.

The framework addresses healthcare and medical disparities by investing in coverage for the uninsured, hearing coverage, and maternal health for Black women.

“The pandemic laid bare a lot of the disparities that are currently in our communities,” Baker said.

“What the Build Back Better Framework will do is to close the gap with Medicaid coverage so the cost of getting insurance will be less for people,” Baker continued.

Build Back Better will also invest in evidence-based community violence intervention to help reduce gun violence as well as the chances of violent police interactions in Black and Brown communities.

Baker clarified that the initiative is not meant to replace traditional policing, but to add to it.

“One great impact that the community violence intervention program is going to have is helping to take some of the burden off of police in this country. We’re talking about leveraging trusted messengers, we’re talking about having individuals in our communities who can intervene in conflicts, connect people to social help, wellness, and employment services that will reduce the likelihood of violence overall,” Baker said.

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Car Wash Workers Cope with Lingering Impacts of ICE Raids

WAVE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — Hundreds of car wash workers across Southern California have been detained in federal immigration raids, leaving lingering impacts on families and communities. Mario, a 33-year U.S. resident and father of three, was arrested at a Santa Ana car wash last August and held for two months.

Published

4 days ago

August 10, 2026

bpusa-syndication

LOS ANGELES — Mario relied on his job in the car wash industry to raise his three children. It was during a shift at a Santa Ana car wash last August that he was arrested by federal agents, taken to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center and held for two months.

“They made me sleep on the cold floor for a week without a blanket, a toothbrush or basic medical care for the injured man next to me,” Mario, a 33-year resident of the United States, said at a news conference earlier this summer at Inglewood’s Crenshaw Imperial Car Wash, which is now closed after being raided by federal agents.

Mario, who is being identified only by his first name for safety reasons, is among hundreds of car wash workers detained across Southern California in the year since the Trump administration began an aggressive immigration crackdown in the region, according to the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center.

News of raids by masked agents has faded from the headlines, but the effects still linger for those caught in the crosshairs. Family members have been deported or left to languish in detention, and many who remain live with the fear of being hunted down by immigration officers.

At least 373 car wash workers have been detained at car washes across Southern California since the raids began last summer, according to figures compiled by CLEAN. The group’s data also shows federal agents raided or attempted to raid at least 106 car washes in communities across Los Angeles, Orange County and surrounding areas, including Inglewood, Culver City, Westchester, Bell and Whittier.

CLEAN, an advocacy group founded in 2007, has been fighting to protect car wash workers from exploitation and unsafe conditions. When the raids began last year, the group sprang into action, working around the clock to help detained workers and provide their families with legal and financial support.

“We gathered our information from workers, managers, and owners of the car washes that were being raided,” CLEAN Deputy Director Andrea Gonzalez said. “We also gathered information from rapid response teams who were on the ground responding to the raids.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on the group’s findings.

Mario said he was one of seven workers at the Harbor Blvd Car Wash detained on the same day last August, but the only one who has been released. He said he refused to sign deportation papers and is fighting to stay in the United States, a process that has drained his family emotionally and financially.

“Being released is not the same as being free,” he said.

During Mario’s detention at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, his wife and children struggled to cope with his sudden absence while fighting for his release, his wife Alejandra said.

“The employer gave us a video showing my husband being taken away under arrest, treated worse than a common criminal, with chains binding his legs, arms and waist,” Alejandra said. “It wasn’t right.”

The experience of a car wash worker named José was recounted at the news conference by the Rev. Andy Schwiebert of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, who said agents “took him” from the La Cienega Car Wash last August.

José’s wife is a U.S. citizen, Schwiebert said, and José had a pathway to gaining citizenship before he was detained. By the time a judge ordered his release on bond, the car wash had shut down, Schwiebert said, leaving José without a job.

“These raids did not just target workers; they destabilized families, congregations, workplaces and entire communities,” Schwiebert said.

The administration’s aggressive enforcement operations have continued across the nation in the months since José’s and Mario’s detention, with ICE arrests in July surging to their highest rate so far under President Donald Trump.

Last month, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three in Houston. Less than a week later, an immigration officer fatally shot 26-year-old Johan Sebastián Duran Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine.

Back in Inglewood, Mario said he was grateful to share his story and that, even though he was released, his experience in detention stays with him.

“I still feel frustrated and traumatized,” Mario said, “because my life is no longer the same as it used to be.”

Ernesto Ureño is a Loyola Marymount University journalism major and intern at Capital & Main, a nonprofit publication focused on inequality. It is published here with permission.

Based on reporting by Wave Community Newspapers.

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Black History

George Cook: The Inventor Who Made Fishing Smarter

Published

5 days ago

August 9, 2026

bpusa-syndication

A copy of the patent for George Cook’s Automatic Fishing Device. Public domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

George Cook was a Black American inventor from Louisville, Kentucky. He was born in 1863, during a time when Black Americans faced unfair laws, limited opportunities, and many barriers to education, jobs, and recognition. Even with these challenges, he became known for his intelligence, honesty, and ability to think in practical ways. Some records say he worked as a cook for Buffalo Bill Cody and later as a chef on a private dining car for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. He was even known by the nickname “Honest Mister Cook.”

As with many Black American inventors and scientists of that era, there is little biographical information about Mr. Cook.

Cook’s most famous invention was the Automatic Fishing Device. He received U.S. Patent No. 625,829 for it on May 30, 1899. His patent shows that he was not just someone with an idea, but someone who made it happen.

So, what did the Automatic Fishing Device do? Imagine fishing with a line in the water. Usually, you have to watch carefully and pull the line at just the right moment when a fish bites. Cook wanted to make that process easier. His device was designed to react when a fish pulled on the line. The tension from the fish would trigger a lever. That lever would release a spring-loaded part of the device, causing it to move quickly and help pull in the line. The device also had an alarm gong that would ring to let the fisher know something was happening.

This invention was important because it used simple mechanical ideas in a clever way. Springs, levers, rails, and alarms were not new by themselves, but Cook combined them to solve a real problem. His device showed how inventors often take familiar parts and arrange them in a new way to make life easier.

Cook looked at fishing and asked, “How can this be improved?” Then, he created a device that could respond automatically when a fish tugged on the line. His invention let fishermen relax instead of watching the line for hours, trusting the alarm to alert them.

Cook may not be as famous as some inventors, but his Automatic Fishing Device shows that creativity and innovation can be applied anywhere. His legacy lives on as part of the larger story of Black innovation in America.

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Gov. Newsom Announces $109.6 Million in Funding for 278 Supportive Homes in Bakersfield, Contra Costa, Sacramento and Fresno

POST NEWS GROUP — “Every Californian deserves a safe place to call home, particularly the veterans who bravely served our country,” said Newsom in a statement on July 23. “California voters approved Proposition 1 because they know we must do more to address homelessness and behavioral health challenges.”

Published

5 days ago

August 9, 2026

bpusa-syndication

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $109.6 million in Proposition 1 funding to create 278 permanent supportive homes in Bakersfield, Contra Costa County, Sacramento and Fresno, including 103 homes reserved for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The funding, awarded through California’s Homekey+ program, is intended to expand permanent supportive housing and behavioral health services for veterans and other Californians experiencing or at risk of homelessness. State officials said the investment advances Proposition 1, the voter-approved measure aimed at increasing housing, treatment and support services for people with behavioral health needs.

“Every Californian deserves a safe place to call home, particularly the veterans who bravely served our country,” said Newsom in a statement on July 23. “California voters approved Proposition 1 because they know we must do more to address homelessness and behavioral health challenges.”

The largest award, nearly $32.6 million, will help the City of Fresno and Parkway Prime LLC convert an interim housing project into 84 permanent supportive homes at Parkway Terrace, including nine units reserved for veterans. The City of Sacramento and Urban Capital LLC will receive nearly $31.9 million to develop the Rio Linda Senior Housing Project, which will include 100 homes, 49 of them reserved for veterans.

Contra Costa County and Satellite Affordable Housing Associates will receive $28.8 million to develop an 82-unit senior housing community, with 62 units designated for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness who have behavioral health challenges, including 30 units for veterans. In Bakersfield, Community Action Partnership of Kern will receive nearly $14.1 million to convert a 38-room motel into 30 permanent supportive homes, with 15 units reserved for veterans.

State officials also announced an additional $2.3 million for three previously awarded Homekey+ projects in Olivehurst, Sanger and Stockton, primarily to support operating costs and increase veteran housing.

Since its launch, Homekey+ has awarded $968.4 million to 54 permanent supportive housing projects expected to create 2,749 affordable homes statewide, including 723 homes reserved for veterans. Officials said Proposition 1 is expected to expand California’s behavioral health system by funding additional supportive housing, treatment facilities and services for people experiencing homelessness and behavioral health challenges.