February 2, 2023

On August 28, 1955, while visiting family in Money, Mississippi, 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman four days earlier.

His assailants—the white woman’s husband and his brother—made Emmett carry a 75-pound cotton gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head and then threw his body, tied to the cotton gin fan with barbed wire, into the river.

His brutal murder 67 years ago still resonates in America where systematic police brutality and overt racism continue to plague Blacks.

Emmett Till

A Message from Interim County Administrator Mr. Arturo Valdez

Dear Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) Staff, Students, Families, and Community,

In our continued commitment to serving our community and providing current information, we have some important updates in this week’s message.

County Administrator’s Welcome Message

I hope all of our students, staff and families are off to a great start in 2023. I am thrilled and humbled to lead our District, as the new County Administrator. Our goal at the Inglewood Unified School District will always be to educate, challenge and inspire our students. I thank you for your continued support and wish you success, as we enter the second half of the school year. To access my full welcome message, click here.

School Closure and Consolidation Committee Update

On Thursday January 12, 2023, the District’s School Closure and Consolidation Committee (SCCC), whose role is to make recommendations to the County Administrator regarding school closure and consolidation, voted not to close Worthington TK-6 Elementary School. Pursuant to Assembly Bill 1912, the District staff will present a school closure plan and the information that was presented to the SCCC. In the next few weeks, the school closure recommendation made to the County Administrator by the SCCC, will be presented

at upcoming Board of Education meetings. The Board of Education meeting will be advertised through District communication channels. The public will have an opportunity and is encouraged to attend these meetings and provide public input prior to the County Administrator making a determination regarding the closure of Worthington TK-6 Elementary School.

Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony

The District is excited to share that construction activities at Caroline Coleman Stadium will begin on Monday, January 30, 2023. In partnership with Nike, the National Football League (NFL), the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Los Angeles Rams, Caroline Coleman Stadium will receive a new artificial turf field, a resurfaced track, a new electronic scoreboard, and new restrooms, giving our student athletes and community access to state-of-the-art facilities. We are looking forward to the completion of the project and hosting future sport games, district events, and so much more. During the construction, Caroline Coleman Stadium will be temporarily closed until the construction is completed. We look forward to hosting our ribbon cutting ceremony in the coming months.

What’s Happening in our District and Schools?

District Committee Meeting Updates

In an effort to keep our community informed, our Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee will take place on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the District Office Board Room. The meeting is open to the public to attend, listen, and provide public comments. Please click here for information regarding our committee meeting agenda and supporting documents that will be posted 72 hours prior to the meeting. Furthermore, our LCAP Educational Partner Committee will take place via Zoom on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 from 4:00 p.m.6:00 p.m. To access the Zoom meeting link, click here.

Board of Education Meeting

At our Board of Education meeting, held on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, Educational Services recognized students, staff, families, and members of their school communities from City Honors International Preparatory School and Inglewood Community Adult School. We want to thank all of those recognized for their unwavering commitment and positive impact they have on our District.

La Tijera TK-8 hosts its National

On Thursday, January 19, 2023, La Tijera TK-8 Academy hosted its National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony for their middle school students. The National Junior Honor Society program provides students with the skill sets to develop habits and standards that will enable them to become future ready leaders, as they embark in high school, college and their careers. Accompanied by staff, parents, families, and community members, students received various recognitions and awards around, scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. Thank you Principal Tilley for your leadership and introducing new programs, resources and opportunities to our students that continue to build their path towards higher education and career readiness.

IUSD hosts the Historic Black Colleges and Universities Caravan Tour

On Wednesday, January 25, 2023, the District hosted the National College Resource Foundation’s Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caravan Tour. The HBCU Caravan Tour hosted 24 colleges and universities, where our IUSD high school students had the opportunity to meet with admission representatives. The caravan tour is one of many strategies IUSD is implementing to ensure we prepare our students to be both college and career-ready, leading to infinite possibilities for them in their trajectory of lifelong learning. This remarkable event provided our students with the opportunity to explore a variety of post-secondary career options, while gaining knowledge around financial aid and admission processes. Furthermore, on-the-spot admission and scholarship opportunities were offered to many of our 12th grade students. IUSD is extremely thankful for our partners, Board of Education, District staff, and families for the unwavering support and commitment to our students, as we collectively prepare them for the next phase of their educational and professional career.

Crozier Student Honored by the Los Angeles Lakers

We are excited to share that Kaosisuchukwu (Kaosi) Ezenwoko, City Honors student was recognized at the Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball game on Friday, January 20, 2023. At the Lakers’ Mentor Night, Kaosi was accompanied at center court by her Brotherhood Crusade Bolt Academy peers, where she was recognized for her growth and development, as she motivates and encourages others to be the best version of themselves every day. Thank you Mr. Weaver from the Brotherhood Crusade for your unwavering support and mentorship you bring forth to our students daily.

Facilities-At-A-Glance December/ January Newsletter

Our District would like to share some highlights and updates on the District’s current and completed school modernization and improvement projects. The modernization and improvement projects have been funded through the use of Measure GG and Measure I bonds funding proceeds, alongside private donations. To learn more about how the funding proceeds have impacted our schools, please click here.

Subscribe to our IUSD Weekly Newsletter

Subscribe to our IUSD Newsletter and learn about important information and exciting events. We share and celebrate the great accomplishments from our amazing students and staff and their fantastic work. Stay connected and sign up by clicking here today!

District Parent Advisory Council

February 28, 2023 Join via Zoom

March 14, 2023 Join via Zoom

April 25, 2023 Join via Zoom

May 9, 2023

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County Administrator Parent Advisory Committee March 21, 2023 Join via Zoom

Joint Parent Advisory Committee Review May 16, 2023

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Community Events and Resources

IUSD’s Martin Luther King Jr. Art Expression Contest and Exhibition

The Inglewood Unified School District will host its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Art Expression Exhibition on Saturday, February 18, 2023, alongside the City of Inglewoods’s Black History Month Celebrations. The District will kickoff its 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Art Expression Exhibition taking place in downtown Market Street at the Miracle Theater Event Space (230-234 S. Market Street) from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., featuring K-12 student artwork themed: Why must the dream go on and where do we go from here?, live entertainment, and fun-filled family activities including a TK-3 Literacy Village. For more information, you can contact the Department of State and Federal Programs at o specialprojects@ inglewoodusd.com.

Thank you staff, parents, students, and community members for your ongoing support and commitment to the success of our district.

Together, #WeAreInglewoodUnified Sincerely,

James Morris, Ed.D. County Administrator

Caroline Coleman Stadium Breaks Ground

Dr. Ben Chavis to receive NNPA Lifetime Achievement Award

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Starting on February 1, 2023, the San Juan Marriott Beach Resort & Stelaris Casino in Puerto Rico will play host to the Midwinter Training Conference of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the trade association for more than 230 African American-owned newspapers and media companies in the United States.

Salsa music and lessons, food, drinks, and a welcome message from NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards, President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., Convention Chair Terry B. Jones, and several NNPA partners and sponsors kick off the conference, which is appropriately titled “Digital Innovation, Training, and Engagement of the Black Press of America.”

On the second day, after breakfast, Black Press publishers and guests will participate in a workshop titled “Overcoming Challenges to Create Sustainable Business Outcomes Through Digital Transformation in the NNPA Digital Network (Part I).”

The discussion, to be led by Kate

sjlmag.com

Cox, an adjunct professor at Florida’s Poynter Institute, promises to highlight the conference’s goals and engage in a more in-depth presentation tailored to NNPA member publishers.

For those interested in learning more about ATTR-CM, a rare heart condition that disproportionately affects African Americans, Pfizer, Inc. will host a luncheon and give a brief overview of the disease.

Chavis and the president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Dorothy Tucker, plan a fireside chat to talk about how to improve communication between the NABJ and the NNPA.

The second installment of the earlier workshop is planned, during which time attendees plan to talk about the special demographics of the digital market, the challenges of hiring for it, and the new

possibilities for making money there.

The workshop’s objective is to equip NNPA member publishers with the tools they need to implement the recommended audience, staffing, and consultant assessments, thereby increasing digital monetization.

The NNPA plans a series of events throughout the week in honor of

HBCU Re-Launches National Black-Jewish Relations Center

Dillard University President Rochelle Ford this month announced plans to relaunch the Dillard University National Center for Black-Jewish Relations in New Orleans.

The reinvigorated center will continue the work of the initial center, which aimed to reduce hostilities that were emerging between members of the African American and Jewish communities, but it also will have action projects that build upon the conversations and relationships formed through the Center’s programs.

“Possibly worse than in the 1980s, when Dillard established the National Center for Black-Jewish Relations, America is polarized, with a growing distrust and hostility toward each other in the Black and Jewish communities.” said Ford. “Often the conflict is a result of a lack of knowledge, appreciation and understanding of the alliances of the Black and Jewish communities during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, as well as the shared history of genocide and social experiences.

Attending the program was Keila Lawrence, a graduate of Miles College, a Birmingham-area HBCU. Lawrence is coordinator of a new program that has created a shared journalism internship between Southern Jewish Life and the Birmingham Times, the city’s African American newspaper, in partnership

with Miles College.

“The New Orleans event was wonderful. Not only did it help further the growing alliance between our two communities, but also many new friendships were formed,” she said.

The program reinforced the shared histories, values and challenges that connect the two groups, said Lawrence. “Slavery and continuing racism, and the Holocaust and continuing antisemitism bind our two communities, along with our shared resilience and respective triumphs. Programs such as this one make this evident.”

Lawrence has been at the forefront of building ties between young Black and Jewish leaders and educating about Israel, activities she began in college. She currently is an associate with Clyde Group, a leading public relations and public affairs boutique agency in Washington.

One factor making the relaunch at Dillard even more timely has been the attention that Kanye West and Kyrie Irving drew over recent antisemitic comments. White supremacists and other antisemitic groups have celebrated West in particular.

Only Of Its Kind

The center, the only one of its kind, was originally founded in 1989 by Samuel DuBois Cook, the fourth president of Dillard. He served from 1974 to 1997.

Under the leadership of Cook, the National Center for Black-Jewish relations hosted annual national conferences and produced the book, “Black-Jewish Relations: Dillard University Conference Papers,” which Cook edited. A classmate and friend of Martin Luther King Jr. at Morehouse College, Cook was greatly influenced in 1949 by his Jewish professor and mentor at Ohio State University while pursuing his doctorate.

Cook was on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and was presented the Alfred W. and Genevieve Weil Medallion Award by the Jewish Chautauqua Society for his efforts in building more harmonious relationships between the Black and Jewish communities.

During its first eight years, the center’s activities were devoted to revitalizing the black-Jewish alliances that had been so successful during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In 1998, the center expanded its charter to focus on the new realities of America’s future, asking African Americans and Jewish Americans what insights they can bring from their respective social experiences and intellectual traditions that can contribute to solving problems related to race and ethnicity.

The center has been dormant for the past two decades.

Rev. Herbert A. Brisbon III, Dillard

University chaplain, will help lead the center’s planning committee’s efforts.

Joining Dillard in revitalizing the Center are: Aaron Bloch, JCRC/ executive director, Goldring Family Foundation Center for JewishMulticultural Affairs; Arnie D. Fielkow, immediate past CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans; Ron Gubitz, executive director, Tulane Hillel; William “Bill” Hess, trustee, Dillard University; Kahlida Nicole Lloyd, founder, Mission Reconcile; Wendell Shelby-Wallace, special advisor, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Shari Rogers, president, Spill the Honey.

As part of its King Legacy Celebration over King Weekend, Dillard partnered with Spill the Honey to host a screening of the documentary “Shared Legacies: The African American-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance,” in addition to a panel discussion with national leaders discussing the film and the status of Black-Jewish Relations.

The night before the screening, Bloch hosted a beloved community dinner where HBCU students, staff, faculty and alumni dined with civil rights leaders, the documentary’s directors, and other leaders in the Jewish community. The objective was for meaningful conversations to occur, creating a ripple effect to make meaningful connections and change.

Continued on page 8

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Serving Ladera, Hawthorne, Westchester, Lawndale, Gardena, Carson

IUSD students attend HBCU Caravan Tour at Crozier

IUSD has a relentless commitment to ensuring College and Career readiness is afforded to all students, as they recently hosted the National College Resource Foundation’s Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caravan Tour Jan. at Crozier Middle School’s gymnasium. .

All IUSD high school students had the opportunity to meet with admission representatives. The caravan tour provided IUSD students with the opportunity to explore a variety of post-secondary career options, while gaining knowledge around financial aid and admission processes. Furthermore, on the spot admission and scholarship opportunities were available for 12th grade students.

“The District has a relentless commitment to ensuring College and Career readiness is afforded to all students through their instruction, guided support of their teachers and counselors, and college bound culture across all TK-12 schools”, said Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Bernadette Lucas.

IUSD District leadership, staff, and community members gathered to enjoy a day with students, as they explored and became inspired by the various college opportunities that are available to them.

Sports & Entertainment Kellen Moore to be Chargers Next Offensive Coordinator

SZA Ties Janet Jackson with Latest Billboard Milestone

Fans had to wait five years for a follow-up to SZA’s smash debut album CTRL, but according to her numbers on the Billboard 200, that wait was totally worth it.

The TDE darling’s sophomore album SOS has dominated the R&B front for the four weeks it’s been out. It’s been the No. 1 album each week, becoming the first female artist this century to have an R&B album in that position for four consecutive weeks, the first since Janet Jackson’s Janet album in 1993.

SZA still has a chance to have the longest No. 1 streak by a woman for any type of album, which is currently owned by Adele with her 2021 project 30, which spent seven weeks in that position.

SZA undoubtedly noticed the accolade and took to her Instagram to show her appreciation.

She wrote, “I don’t have shit to say but thank you to God my ancestors my family my team and ALL OF YOU THAT RIDE FOR ME ! ESPECIALLY CAMP!! Y’all my family too [white heart emoji] we have so much more to come.”

With over 750,000 album sales in the first month, SOS is on its way to being classic. It won’t be long until it’s officially certified platinum, which would be her second project to do so in as many tries.

SZA’s SOS Tour kicks off in Columbus, Ohio on February 21. The 17-city tour will wrap in Inglewood on March 23 at The Kia Forum.

The Chargers have a new offensive coordinator.

The Bolts announced on Monday they have agreed to terms with Kellen Moore for the role.

Moore spent the past four seasons as the Offensive Coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. He has five total seasons of NFL coaching experience, all with the Cowboys.

When Moore became available, the Chargers moved quickly and interviewed Moore on Sunday evening, agreeing to terms shortly thereafter to become to the team’s offensive coordinator.

The 34-year-old Moore brings plenty of leadership, experience and success to the Bolts.

In Moore’s four seasons in Dallas, the Cowboys twice had the top-ranked offense in yards per game (2019 and 2021) and led the league in points scored in 2021 with 31.2 per game.

Moore will have plenty of playmakers at his disposal, beginning with quarterback Justin Herbert. Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley are set to return in the backfield while Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, Joshua Palmer and Gerald Everett are all under contract for the upcoming season.

Up front, the Bolts feature two of the best players at their respective positions — center Corey Linsley and left tackle Rashawn Slater — while rookies Zion Johnson and Jamaree Salyer both showed promise in 2022.

Moore has spent the past decade in the league as a player and a coach.

The former NFL quarterback spent the 2012-2014 seasons with the Lions before he was with the Cowboys from 2015-17.

He then joined Dallas’ staff in 2018 as a quarterbacks coach before quickly being elevated to the offensive coordinator role.

Moore was also a standout collegiate quarterback when he starred at Boise State. A four-time, First-team AllAmerican and the first Heisman Trophy Finalist in school history, Moore went 50-3 with the Broncos from 2008-11.

Moore was the winningest quarterback in college football history when he went to the NFL.nto the postseason, resulting in Garrett’s departure.

Jalen Ramsey named to 2023 Pro Bowl Games

By Stu Jackson, The Rams

Jalen Ramsey is Pro Bowl-bound.

The Los Angeles Rams defensive back on Monday was named to the 2023 Pro Bowl games, replacing Eagles cornerback Darius Slay after Philadelphia advanced to Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.

Overall, it marks the sixth-straight Pro

Bowl selection for Ramsey, continuing a streak that began in his second NFL season.

The seven-year pro concluded the 2022 season with a career-high tying four interceptions – the secondconsecutive year he’s hit that mark –plus career-bests of 88 total tackles and 18 pass breakups while starting in all 17

games. He also registered two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and his first two sacks of his NFL career.

The multi-day 2023 Pro Bowl games begin Thursday, Feb. 2 in Las Vegas with skills challenges and culminate with 7v7 AFC vs. NFC Flag football games at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 5.

By Eric Smith, Chargers Senior Writer

BUPPIE | BUSINESS

Cashing In on Cryptocurrency and NFTs: Buyer Beware

NEW YORK — Cryptocurrency is going mainstream, as evidenced by the large turnout at the recent NFT NYC conference. Indeed, increasing numbers of companies are accepting the digital money that takes the form of virtual coins or tokens.

There are over 11,000 cryptocurrencies in existence, with more than 400 exchanges for such digital money, financial website Motley Fool reports. Roughly 14 percent of American adults own cryptocurrency and many more say they are planning to buy some. El Salvador recently made Bitcoin legal tender..

One of the hottest concepts in such circles is NFTs (non-fungible tokens) Indeed, Cointelegraph recently reported record numbers in Google searches for NFTs, blowing past traffic for “DeFi,” “Ethereum” and even “blockchain” — search terms which had dominated searches for cryptocurrency-related information.

“While Dogecoin firmly captured the public’s imagination during the second quarter — with search volume for ‘Dogecoin’ rising to rival ‘Bitcoin’ in early May, dog-token fever quickly subsided in the third quarter,” wrote Kiera Wright for the Cointelegraph site, whose self-proclaimed mission is to cover “the future of money.”

James Haft is the chairman of DLTx, which deploys blockchains and tech infrastructure used to build the foundations of Web 3, the next iteration of the internet. DLTX is a public company listed on the Oslo Børs Stock Exchange of Norway, hosted a satellite investor event at the NFT confab with LD Capital, GDA Capital & Akash Network. The attendee list included guests from Coinbase, FTX, Facebook, PayPal, Bitfinex, Grayscale, Pantera

Capital, Fenbushi Capital, Consensys, Polymath, BlockFi, Blocktower Capital, Republic, Wax.io, IOTA, Hedera Hashgraph, Valhalla Capital, Sovryn, Yugen Partners, Casper Labs, BitMart Exchange, Huobi, Shima Capital, 6th Man Ventures, Graph Protocol, Yield Ventures, EY, Coindesk, Forbes, Insider and others.

Haft believes that the strong attendance numbers at the conference and its satellite events not only showcased the strength and increasing momentum of the new NFT economy, it also demonstrated the world is returning to in-person business transactions.

“The wildfire growth of NFTs and the meme stocks and tokens illustrate the path to mass adoption of crypto. These new economies are signing up more new users faster than the classic crypto markets,” Haft said. “The enthusiasm of these new users for the content-based NFTs and memes will likely abate, and then these users will move into the classic markets en masse.”

Gumi Cryptos Capital General Partner Miko Matsumura points to play-to-earn game Axie Infinity as a reflection of industry growth. The NFTbased online video game developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavish boasts approximately 23 million monthly active users. Matsumura sees a future where users will abandon internet services that don’t include them as owners.

Instead, users have begun focusing on work that is more personally empowering. That trend is reflected in a Civic Science poll posted on BeInCrypto, which showed 4 percent of Americans have quit jobs based on crypto gains.

“This is an unusual part of an

economic recovery that represents the power of nerds and technology on behalf of art and meaning. Crypto nerds have become wealthy sovereigns who are now powering a new renaissance,” says Matsumura. “Right now, ‘Bored Apes’ are the kings of pure NFT culture. They will go down in history that way. Eventually this kind of culture will infuse everything and will be less ‘radical’ but for now that’s the tip of the spear.”

While the blockchain industry is getting bigger, it’s still a blip on the radar for the general population, said Bettymedia Founder and Creative Director Bettinna (who goes by one name only). For instance, a couple of members on her team were baffled by NFTs. They had heard her talk about bitcoin, crypto, NFTs, but they didn’t fully understand those concepts until NFT NYC this year.

One of her colleagues was excited to open his first crypto-wallet, and got a free NFT at the Palladium. Although excited, he didn’t know what it really meant before Bettinna gave him a thorough explanation.

“My team said NFTs are like a massive underground world they didn’t know about,” Bettinna said. “I don’t know if NFTs or NFT NYC signal an economic recovery for the industry, because the NFT community has been thriving before the pandemic and during the pandemic. It’s just many of the general public who didn’t know about the NFT community and crypto before Covid-19 found out about it during the pandemic.”

Amid all the newfound excitement, observers say it’s important to be careful when investing in NFTs. Scams are everywhere and in every industry and

the ruses include impersonators, fake accounts and misinformation. Bettinna believes that the NFT community does a decent job of calling people out, but that sometimes the major social media companies don’t move fast enough to shut down scammers.

Pepe is an Art gallery show hosted by Scarce.City at the NFT NYC show. (Lisa Chau)

She recalled the Fame Lady Squad incident which happened over the summer. The $1.5 million NFT project claimed it was created for women to support women. But collectors found out that the founders and their female avatars were in fact Russian men. Collectors said they felt duped and ultimately the founders surrendered the project to a team of females in the community.

“I bring up this story because some saw it as a scam and I believe they have every right to feel the way they did, but I didn’t see it as a total scam,” said Bettinna. “The collectors got beautiful crypto art from the very beginning. They all got their investment and after this controversy, these NFTs from that project will live on in history books. I do see the positive side of all this, at the same time I do think people should be mindful of the NFT world.”

With that in mind, Gumi Cryptos Capital’s Matsumura offer this advice to those thinking about entering the cryptocurrency realm:

“If someone offers you a yield or profit, and you don’t understand where it’s coming from, YOU are the yield.”

Edited by Matthew B. Hall and Bryan Wilkes

By Lisa Chau, Birmingham Times

The “First Congress of The Sapien Tribe” gala and charity event was held during the recent NFT NYC tech conference. Among the items on-site was the NFT (non-fungible token) of the Harambe statue on Wall Street that attendees are shown posing with here. (Lisa Chau)

California Reparations Task Force Agrees to Extend Its Work to 2024

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans decided at the two-day meeting on the campus of San Diego State University that it would support legislation that extends the panel until July 1, 2024.

After an 8-0 vote with one abstention, the task force agreed that it would support legislation that extends the panel, so that it has ample time to satisfactorily implement an action plan based on the findings of its final report, which is due in five months.

The decision, enacted in SDSU’s Grand Ballroom of the Parma Goodall Alumni Center on Jan. 28, was made four months after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation asking for a 12-month extension.

The first day of the meeting was held on Jan. 27 at the Alumni Center.

“The task force supports, in spirit, the extension of the life of the task force, by another year, July 1, 2024, for implementation purpose only,” task force chairperson Kamilah V. Moore told California Black Media (CBM). “We do not authorize or write legislation, but all agreed as a task force the idea of continuing this work to ensure that reparations become a reality in California.”

After a passionate debate -- carried over from the first day of the meeting -- clarified the need for the extension, the task force members supported the notion that more time was necessary.

The nine-member panel has until June 30 to submit a final form of recommendations to the California Legislature. The group agreed that the necessity of the action is based on having to manage the implementation of the task force recommendations and not a continuation of the study. The task

force is on schedule to release its final report and recommendations by July 1, Moore said.

On Sept. 29, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill (AB) 2296 authored by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles). AB 2296 proposed extending the Task Force’s mission until July 1, 2024. Newsom vetoed the bill at the request of California Secretary of State Shirley Weber who authored AB 3121 – the legislation establishing the task force in 2020 – while serving in the Assembly.

Task Force vice chair Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown said at the SDSU meeting that Jones had not been transparent about his intentions for proposing the bill. Brown thought the bill was designed to remove members from the panel. He said JonesSawyer has since “apologized” to him about not providing pertinent details about AB 2296.

Jones-Sawyer was the only task force member who abstained from voting at SDSU. As stated in the language, AB 2296 would’ve removed “the specified term of office for appointees and, instead, subject the appointees to removal at the pleasure of their appointing authority.”

The action alone would authorize the

Task Force, by majority vote, to elect officers and create advisory bodies and subcommittees to accomplish its duties.

Friday Jones, co-chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants and co-host of Politics in Black Podcast, opposed JonesSawyer’s Legislation. She now agrees with the current proposed extension.

“First of all, I think the way it was brought up now in front of the commission is the way that is supposed to happen. That did not happen the first time Reggie Jones-Sawyer asserted legislation without forming this body,” Jones told CBM. “That part they did get right today.”

Jones continued, “But the part of the conversation to me that was missing is the argument that we are going to extend so we can ‘socialize’ all of these recommendations to build support from different communities and ethnicities to put marketing money on the table (to bring about awareness of California reparations).”

Overall, the meeting covered many issues, topics, and recommendations for the final report. Potential remedies, remedial programs, laws and apologies attached to harms pertaining to the

Why the Debate Between Advocates and Gov. Newsom Over Black Student Funding Is Heating Up

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

When Gov. Gavin Newsom presented his 2023-24 budget, educators around the state were happy to hear his funding plans for California’s public schools.

The deficit had little impact on education funding. K-12 per-pupil funding is $17,519 from the Prop 98 General Fund and is $23,723 per pupil when accounting for all funding sources. Last year, it was $22,893.

Newsom announced, “We’re keeping our promises.”

The budget reaffirms his commitment to invest in Transitional Kindergarten (TK)-12 education. Funding levels are being maintained for universal TK, community schools, behavioral health programs, special education, programs to mitigate learning loss during COVID-19, teacher and staff recruitment and retention and the universal meals

program.

The biggest new program presented in the budget is called the LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) Equity Multiplier.

“We made a commitment with leaders in the Assembly and the Senate, led by the great work that former Assemblymember Weber and now current member Weber is doing in terms of equity,” Newsom described the program. “We’re committing an additional $300 million in this year’s budget.”

Newsom was referring to the efforts Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber made with Assembly Bill (AB) 2635 and her daughter, Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego), with AB 2774. The bills were written to fix the LCFF by creating a supplemental grant for California’s lowest-performing

subgroup of students not currently receiving funding, which are African American students.

Black students have consistently been the lowest performing students in the state. Currently, 70% are not meeting the English Language Arts standards and 84% are not meeting math standards.

About 80,000 African American students -- or just over 25% -- are not receiving additional supplemental funding or accountability through the LCFF.

It’s only by targeting additional funds to the lowest performing subgroup that most school districts will be willing to adopt specific and concrete solutions to bridge the achievement gap for Black students.

Although Shirley Weber had shelved the bill in 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown agreed

wealth gap, and a comprehensive presentation of tax law considerations presented by Ray Odom and Sarah Moore Johnson were featured on the first day of the meeting.

California’s AB 3121, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, into law in 2020, created the nine-member task force to investigate the history and costs of slavery in California and around the United States.

Weber spoke briefly at the meeting. She started her academic career as one of SDSU’s youngest professors and established the Africana Studies department in 1972.

San Diego’s 37th Mayor Todd Gloria also spoke at the meeting. Gloria served in the state Assembly from 2016 to 202o.

Chris Ward, Assembly Speaker pro Tempore of the California State Assembly, who serves the 78th Assembly District in central San Diego, made remarks to the panel on opening day of the meeting.

“Your work is going to be pivotal to help so many Californians that have been affected by the injustices and inequalities we have seen in our education system, in our housing system, and economic opportunities,” Ward said. “This is going to be groundbreaking, and I am grateful for the work that you are doing.”

PUBLIC NOTICE

Section 14411 et.seq., Business and Professions Code.)

Original

January 19, 26; February 2, 9, 2023 IT0042230120020365

Inglewood Today

PUBLIC NOTICE

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2023016984

The following Person is doing business as:

Sign Here Mobile Notary Service 419 E. Tamarack Ave., Unit 22

Inglewood, CA 90301

Registered Owner(s): Gina Lutcher, 419 E. Tamarack Ave., Unit 22, Inglewood, CA 90301

This business is conducted by an individual(s). The registrant(s)

Continued from page 3: Dr. Ben... Continued from page 7:

Chavis, who will be presented with the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the civil rights movement and cultural impact.

The film “Belly,” from 1998, which starred Chavis and the late hip hop icon DMX, will be shown in a special screening.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is hosting a breakfast on day three that will feature video presentations, an interview with Chavis, and Florida Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.

The NNPA’s Gates Foundation Education Grant manager, Dr. Elizabeth Primas, and Hyundai’s director of experiential marketing, Erik Thomas, will also participate.

Norman Rich, manager of the NNPA’s digital network, and Randy Fling, chief operating officer of Rolling Out, will lead a third workshop titled “5 Simple Strategies You Can Use to Monetize Your Online Presence.”

According to the NNPA’s events page, “the workshop will share detailed but simple learnings from the digital revenue generating success models of some of the NNPA member publishers,” with a “specific outlined focus” on Rolling Out’s “effectiveness and efficiencies” in the digital space.

Workshop number four will feature the Houston Forward Times’ Chelsea Lenora White and the Washington Informer’s Micha Green.

The duo plans to discuss digital content.

In this workshop, several Generation

Z and Millennials are expected to share their ideas for ensuring the long-term financial health of the Black Press of America, with a particular emphasis on the role that digital transformation and new revenue streams playing in this equation.

Google News Lab’s US Partnerships Manager, Ashley Edwards, will give a talk titled “Google Tools for Newsrooms.”

Journalists will gain knowledge on how to use Google’s resources to find and verify stories that are relevant to their readers through this talk.

Next up is “3 Best Practices to Drive Traffic,” a presentation by Tina Xiao, Global Program Manager for Google News Initiative.

Xiao will discuss available GNI resources for news publishers to grow and sustain their digital businesses, and he will also share three best practices to drive online traffic.

Rebuild Local News Coalition chair Steven Walman will give a briefing on public policy discussions at the state and local levels that could significantly affect Black newspapers, including potential funding opportunities for community newsrooms.

At a gala on Friday, February 3, the NNPA will present Chavis with its Lifetime Achievement Award in front of many of his friends and family.

Details of the Chavis celebration have mostly been kept secret by the organizers.

The conference will conclude on Saturday, February 4 with a publisher’s think tank and breakfast.

to fund AB 2635 with $300 million in one-time money. The funding went to “low performing students” not the “lowest-performing student subgroup”.

It is estimated that Black students received about 8% of that amount.

Last year, AB 2774 passed through the Senate and Assembly without opposition, but Akilah Weber opted to pull the bill before it was sent to Newsom due to potential constitutional issues and lack of an appropriation to fund it. However, she secured Newsom’s commitment to include it in the 2023 budget – targeted funding that would address the needs of Black students.

However, the LCFF Equity Multiplier Program Newsom is proposing falls short of the expectations of the educators and education advocates that supported AB 2774.

They formed the Black in School Coalition and they are asking Newsom to develop a program more like AB 2774.

Coalition member Debra Watkins, Founder and Executive Director of the California Alliance of African American Educators, told California Black Media (CBM) the program was, “Almost the opposite of what we were asking for… it’s misguided.”

Dr. Margaret Fortune, the president and CEO of Fortune School of Education, a charter school network based Sacramento told CBM, “You have a proposal that is put out there as the solution for Black kids, but the funding is not going to get to the Black kids.”

The Equity Multiplier Program is

a $300 million ongoing add-on to the LCFF to accelerate gains in closing opportunity and outcome gaps.

The funds will be allocated to LEAs (Local Educational Agency) which are a school district, county office of education, or charter school with schools serving high concentrations of students eligible for free meals (90% or more free meal eligibility for elementary and middle schools and 85% or more free meal eligibility for high schools).

Brooks Allen, Education Policy Advisor to the Governor and Executive Director of the California State Board of Education, revealed to CBM that budget trailer bill language is being written to strengthen the ties between the three elements of California’s accountability system: the LCAP, the California School Dashboard, and the Statewide System of Support.

According to Allen, the trailer bill will require LEAs, where student group performance is low on a Dashboard indicator at the school level, to include specific goals, actions, and funding to address these demonstrated student group and school-level needs in the LCAP and LEA budget.

Assemblymember Weber told CBM, “I am a huge supporter of this proposal in its entirety…. It’s about making sure that the money that we’re getting is being used properly. That it’s going to the students that are supposed to be getting it and making sure that whatever indicators that we have found to indicate poor academic performance are being