Anne To | Contributing Writer | California Local News Fellow From Carson to East Los Angeles, a large majority of Los Angeles County had a
The morning of Feb. 24 felt more like a festival than a school day. Curran Middle School threw open its doors to celebrate Black History Month with a program that was part showcase, part history lesson, and entirely community-built. Under the theme “Celebrating 100 Years of Black History,” students, teachers, and local organizations filled the campus with performances, cultural activities, and a shared sense of purpose that extended well beyond the classroom.
To call 1965 consequential in American history is an understatement. The year delivered a series of tipping points that urged the nation’s conscience to move closer to reaching its ideals.
As California’s 2026 gubernatorial contest takes shape, candidates are offering competing visions for addressing some of the state’s most persistent challenges, including housing costs, homelessness, public safety, education and economic inequality.
On Wednesday evening, Feb. 25, dozens of people filled the atrium of the California African American Museum (CAAM) to discuss solutions, futures, and opportunities for Black individuals, youths, and families.
The rhythm of West African drums echoed through Bakersfield College’s Renegade Event Center as students, faculty, and community members gathered for the eighth annual Black History Month celebration hosted by Umoja Community.
In 1917, A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen launched The Messenger, a pro-labor, anti-war magazine that connected racism to exploitation and demanded justice for Black workers. Two years later, the federal government responded with tactics of targeted censorship—surveillance, harassment and threats of prosecution—and branded a small Black labor magazine “the most dangerous” publication in the country simply for encouraging Black workers to organize.
Mike Royko was a Chicago columnist syndicated in hundreds of newspapers across America. His working man observations were written with the sarcasm of a man dipping his pen in a boilermaker. He dubbed Jesse Jackson “Jetstream Jesse” for the speed with which he publicly embraced issues. The comment was not meant to be a compliment. Jesse would generate impressions and emotions throughout his life.
John Peavy III was seemingly destined to reimagine education. His mother, Gail Revis, spent 35 years leading guidance counselors for HISD. His grandmother taught Spanish and served as an assistant principal. His grandfather pioneered the School of Liberal Arts at Texas Southern. Peavy grew up surrounded by conversations about both the promise and pain of educating Black children.
On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) representing the Black Press of America, we extend our sincerest condolences to the Jackson family. Leadership matters. Jesse Jackson’s leadership in the Civil Rights Movement in America and the human rights movement throughout the world was outstanding. Jackson uttered a strong penetrating voice for the voiceless. His courage on the battlefield for freedom, justice and equality was unparallel.
Civil Rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., whose career took him from his early collaboration with Martin Luther King to creating the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to two runs for the presidency and ultimately passing the torch to a new generation died Tuesday according to his family.
As a mother of four children, I’ve done A LOT of school shopping. I don’t mean the autumn ritual of purchasing school supplies. I mean shopping for schools – pouring over promotional materials, combing through websites, asking friends and community members for referrals to their favorite schools, attending open houses and orientations, comparing curriculums and educational philosophies, meeting teachers and principals, and students who all claim that their school is the best.
Kern County is often described as more affordable than coastal California, and in some ways, that’s true. Home prices are lower than in Los Angeles or the Bay Area. But the affordability gap for Black households remains one of the largest in the state. This means that they are less likely to have the income needed to buy a home.
In step with its commitment to drive economic growth, equity, and wealth creation for African American businesses in the Golden State, the California African American Chamber of Commerce (CAACC) held its third annual California American Economy Summit at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento on Jan. 28.
Black unemployment surged to 7.5 percent by December 2025, a level that would signal a recession if it were reflected across the national workforce. But the latest “State of the Dream 2026” report makes clear the damage extends far beyond jobs. From broadband access and housing to artificial intelligence and federal workforce policy, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that 2025 marked a sharp economic breakdown for Black America driven by policy reversals and the removal of long-standing safeguards.
A state civil rights investigation into Yuba City Unified School District (YCUSD) has resulted in a settlement requiring districtwide corrective actions after allegations that a Black elementary school student was subjected to repeated racial harassment over multiple school years.
Classrooms should be places of opportunity, not obstacles. But for many students with disabilities, especially students of color and English learners, school often reinforces the inequities it’s supposed to erase.
Harvard University now finds itself standing where politics, power, and punishment meet, as the removal of a Black dean unfolds alongside a renewed White House campaign aimed squarely at race, history, and who is allowed to speak plainly about both.
This is not a reflection. It is a demand. The Black Press of America is being deliberately starved, and unless people act now, it will collapse in full view of the nation it has served for nearly two centuries. This is not about nostalgia. It is about whether truth survives when power decides it should not.
The U.S. labor market showed further signs of strain in November, with new federal data revealing rising unemployment, steep losses in government jobs, and worsening conditions for Black workers, particularly Black men, according to an analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report and a review by the National Women’s Law Center.
