Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) represents California’s 55th Assembly District — which also includes Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park, the Crenshaw Corridor, Culver City, Del Rey, and parts of Mid-City — an area long recognized as the political and cultural center of Black Los Angeles.
With more than 25 years of experience spanning public affairs, community engagement, strategy, marketing, and communications, Kellie Todd Griffin is recognized across California as a leader who mobilizes people and policy around issues that matter.
Oakland native LaNiece Jones has served as Executive Director for Black Women Organized for Political Action/Training Institute for Leadership Development (BWOPA/TILE) since 1995. Like her organization, Jones is committed to supporting Black women to become authentic leaders and coalition builders who empower their communities and prepare others for economic success.
In November 2024, Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) became the first African American south of Los Angeles County to be elected to the California State Senate. She is also board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and founder of the Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology Division at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.
The battles over the Affordable Care Act were never only about policy or the price of insurance. They were never simply arguments about federal subsidies, individual mandates, or the markets that hold the system together. From the moment America elected a Black president and that president dared to place the health of the poor and the marginalized at the center of national law, a deeper truth rose to the surface. That truth has followed the country for centuries. It was waiting for its next target. The target became Barack Obama. The instrument became Obamacare.
“It is a shame that organizations like the NCAA, who last year touted $1.4 billion in revenue — a $91 million increase from the prior year — have for so long been able to benefit from college athletes’ hard work and sacrifice while the athletes themselves are often exploited and mistreated,” a blunt Dec. 3 statement by the Congressional Black Caucus, in part, asserted.
Washington, DC – On December 6, 2025, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, received the Uncommon Height Crystal Stair Award
In a significant moment for the labor movement, Roxanne Brown, set to become the first African American woman elected as President of the United Steelworkers (USW), North America’s largest industrial union, joins Make It Plain with Rev. Mark Thompson. With the official transition happening in March, Brown’s ascent is more than just a personal achievement; it represents a shift in the labor movement’s leadership reflecting the demographics of today’s workforce.
A new report reveals that while Black women in California face some of the steepest inequities in wages, health, and housing, they also display remarkable strength through high civic engagement and community leadership.
California’s latest School Dashboard makes one thing clear: Black students are making progress, but not nearly fast enough — and the public education system is still not organized to deliver the excellence they deserve.
Medi-Cal is undergoing major changes. For Black Californians, these shifts bring both opportunities and challenges. As California continues to reshape its health care system through initiatives like California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), the state is working to close long-standing racial disparities in care, especially in areas like maternal health, mental health, and preventive services.
A new initiative launching in early 2026 aims to help Black women across Southern California build careers, break job barriers, and reclaim economic power.
Friends, family, and colleagues recently gathered at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to honor the life and legacy of Belva Davis — the pioneering Bay
If recent proposals in Congress to cut funding for federal social programs succeed, the downstream effects will not be abstract or distant. Kellie Todd Griffin,
They called it Shared Chains. The episode ran on the “Blaac718” podcast, and in that dim space between sound and silence, an Asian American man spoke a truth this country has long tried to drown. “I always tell people,” he said quietly, “the day the Latino, African American, Asian, and other communities realize they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning.
Onyx Impact has released its eye-opening BlackOut Report which reveals that the efforts to derail Black progress are not merely historical footnotes but present-day threats. In just the past eight months, there have been 15,723 distinct impact points, each representing a direct attack on Black opportunities, lives, or histories.
This Saturday marks one month of the federal government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers—nearly 20% of whom are Black and 30% of whom are veterans—are missing their second paycheck. Families across the country will be forced to choose between paying for groceries, rent and medical care. President Trump and his allies in Congress are inflicting this pain because they would rather shut down the government than deal with the looming health care crisis that will explode costs for more than 170 million Americans.
Two months ago, famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump stood before a ballroom filled with the echoes of history. He did not whisper. He thundered. “If you’ve been blessed,” he said, “you got to pass the blessing on. You just can’t keep it to yourself.” Then he pledged fifty thousand dollars to the Black Press of America. It was not an act of charity. It was an act of faith.
I spent my earliest years as an educator searching for books that reflected my students’ experiences; I wanted to introduce them to books that reflected not just the colors of their skin, but also the textures of their lives. I wanted them to see themselves as I saw them: loved, powerful, and full of potential. Too often, those stories were missing from the shelves.
Prop 50 proposes new lines for many of California’s 52 congressional districts, which would negate the five Republican seats drawn by Texas. Democrats could gain up
