From The Editor What A Life!"

“A Few Thoughts About the Plea Deal in the Mark Ridley-Thomas Case”

et me start with a few thoughts. I was off the air

La few days last week, but that didn't stop folk from blowing up my phone with the news that ex-USC Social Work Dean Marilyn Flynn had struck a deal with government prosecutors agreeing to plead guilty in the Mark Ridley Thomas bribery case. As you may know, Ms. Flynn appeared in LA District court and indeed pled guilty.

For some, this was big news. For me, I was surprised it took this long. You can ask my colleagues here at KBLA when news of this case broke a year ago, I told them then that Ms. Flynn was going to strike a deal.

How did I know? Three reasons. She's 83. She's a white woman. Ridley-Thomas is a Black man.

Can I keep it real? If your 83-year-old black grandmother was facing a ten-year prison sentence and one random white man had to be sacrificed, what would you expect or implore your big mama to do?

We’ve become so accustomed to legalized bribery and normalized corruption in our politics, we just assume that any politician accused of anything is automatically guilty. It's cynical and I'm not stuck on stupid, I get it. But that said, skepticism is healthy. Cynicism is dangerous.

While many believe this guilty plea by Ms. Flynn is determinative and fatal for Ridley-Thomas, her plea has not moved me one inch from where I was a year ago. As you've heard me say countless times, what matters most for me–and if I can be so bold, ought to matter most to you– are three things: presumption of innocence, fundamental fairness and due process.

Before the truth can even lace up its sneakers and get out the blocks, the truth has already been lapped by the lies. Routinely, we see black men released from prison who have been lied on by the state. Bryan Stevenson and Barry Scheck are busier than ever trying to win freedom for black men who've been wrongfully accused, but you want me to believe that just because the government got someone to turn state's evidence, that automatically means the accused is guilty. Come on now. The State of New York somehow convinced the central part five to lie on themselves. These forced confessions happen every single day in our unjust legal system.

So, if you're basing your view of this case solely on what the government said, then you and I need to talk. And it ain't just black folk.

Did you see that the ex-USC water polo coach who was convicted in the sprawling college admissions bribery scandal just got himself a new trial? Ask me why he got new trial. Prosecutorial misconduct by the government. That's why he got a new trial.

Here now [is] another reason this is so tricky for me. I have to consider always the source. This is the same USC that pursued the case against Ridley-Thomas.

I'm sorry for all the Trojan fans, but can I just say that for me, USC is the most self-righteous institution of higher learning I have ever encountered. The stuff that they have tried to cover up and the lives that they have ruined on a Rick Caruso's watch (I might add) is shameful and disgraceful.

Put simply, I need to hear the whole story and until Ridley Thomas gets to court and tells me his truth, I can't fall for the banana in the tailpipe. What will be will be, but not until due process has run its course.

Finally, I know what it's like to be falsely accused and have folk treat you like you are toxic. To have fake friends abandon you in your darkest hour.

I just don't believe in abandoning my friends, especially those who have spent years loving and serving Black folk.

At this point in my life, I ain't got but a few true friends left and that's fine by me. Don't get it twisted. But the few friends I do have know one thing: I am with them when they're right and I'll get with them when they're wrong, but I will never abandon them.

For me, it's all about one thing–the truth. No lie can live forever. Here’s to the truth. Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne, yet that scaffold sways the future and behind the dim unknown standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

Tavis Smiley is an on-air radio commentator and the owner of KBLA radio station in Los Angeles. He has penned multiple New York Times Bestselling books, been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was once dubbed by Time Magazine as one of its “100 Most Influential People In The World.”

“What A Life!"

From the Editor

LISA COLLINS Publisher

My father, G. Mansfield Collins closed his eyes for the last time on September 23rd, just four days shy of his 102nd birthday. In going through the belongings he kept close, I found a folded up copy of a column I wrote entitled, “Honoring Our Fathers”. In his memory, I am sharing it again. My dad rarely speaks of the things he has accomplished, except to reflect in one moment or another on a memory that was triggered by an event, statement or something he saw on television. In many cases, he has stood on the frontlines of history, whether as a famed Tuskegee Airman or at the side of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for whom he served as West Coast executive director of what was then known as the Western Christian Leadership Conference and was responsible–along with famed activist Xernona Clayton–for raising millions in the struggle for civil rights. Because of all he did, we grew up in a home where our phones were tapped and if Dr. King was in Los Angeles, our house was under watch and my Dad and his pastor friends were shadowed by law enforcement officials.

He counted among his close allies–former Ambassador Andrew Young, the late Gilbert Lindsay, a

City Hall janitor who worked his way up to becoming the city's first black City Council member and

Tom Bradley, L.A. first black mayor, who also just happened to be a high school classmate of his.

My dad let very few of his talents go to waste, including a great singing voice that early on landed him in local choruses and made for beautiful Sunday morning solos as an associate minister, under my grandfather. When three years ago, he was asked to be a special guest at a ceremony posthumously honoring the life of Jessie Robinson (the first Black woman songwriter to be admitted to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, ASCAP), he had forgotten that she had dedicated one of her songs to him. His vocal skills also landed him a stint as extra in the classic film, “Imitation of Life” and on the star-studded 1959 film version of Porgy and Bess, starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll and Sammy Davis Jr, whom he would later work with in the fundraising efforts for the March from Selma to Montgomery. But one of my biggest delights as a kid was seeing him alongside the great character actor, Joel Fluellen, in one of the opening scenes of the original “Mighty Joe Young” film as they sold the young gorilla to a young white girl. Fact is, I grew up a Daddy’s girl, and believe that what I got most from him was the fearlessness to spread my wings and make the fullest use of my talents. Now, don’t get me wrong, he was hardly perfect which is why his biggest gift to me was raising me up with a strong foundation in the church. One of my earliest memories of my Dad, however was also my earliest experience with acrophobia, or the fear of heights. (Seems I’ve always liked being on solid ground). I must have been about four or five when he took my brothers and I to an amusement park and strapped us into what was to be my first and last turn on a Ferris Wheel. I grew more and more uncomfortable as the gondola

spun upward to about 60 or so feet and as it reached the top I began to scream. (Note that this was probably just seconds into the ride). My brothers –who were enjoying themselves–flashed that ‘Oh-just-ignore-her, we’re-having-fun-look.’ But my Dad–who was standing near the Ferris Wheel operator– nearly choked on his popcorn as he nudged the guy and pointed to me. Realizing the man was not going to stop the ride, he tossed the popcorn, forcefully took the guys arm and said, “Stop the ride and let her off.” Fearful of what he might do next, the man acquiesced and just like that, my Dad became my hero. When I started L.A. Focus, my Dad was not only the first one to lend his support, but served as an advisor, set up the distribution and introduced me to key religious leaders like the late Bishop H.H. Brookins, Rev. Dr. E.V. Hill and Dr. Thomas Kilgore, all of whom L.A. Focus/ October 2022 he enlisted to aid me in my endeavor. More on my Dad can be found on page 17. Before I sign off, I want to remind you of an important date–October 11. It’s the date ballots are mailed out and it’s important for any number of reasons that we all vote and where possible, vote early to make our voices known and to eliminate the challenges that come with delayed results. Remember your voice is your power. Keep the faith. 4

UpFront

Weaponized Rhetoric Credited With Increasing the Hate on Social Media

GERALD BELL

Contributor

Following the death of George Floyd, former president Donald Trump attacked protesters by advising police, “When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon…Please don’t be too nice.” Amid his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly targeted Mexicans claiming, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Even as COVID19 began to spread in 2020, Trump tweeted out the phrase “Chinese virus”. And according to the American Journal of Public Health, the use of those two words alone exploded into many poisonous tweets of anti-Asian sentiments. Later, it was reported that numerous hate incidents occurred as hate-mongers took to their social media platforms falsely linking the virus to Asian-Americans.

Such rhetoric, purported by Trump and other ambitious politicians, reveals how deep and widespread extreme hate has made its way into the fabric of America’s new normal. Pundits argue that too many politicians are “crossing ethical lines by employing toxic language to demean and attack their opponents, and it seems that the public approves.”

“The acceptance of politician’s derogatory language is evident by the manner in which these politicians receive deafening applause,” observes University of Texas Rhetoric and Composition researcher, Dr. Jagadish Paudel. “The kind of culture that this promotes leads to a polarized society where civil discussions can no longer be had. On social media, whenever people express their opinions— especially if that opinion happens to oppose a political party—that party’s activists attack like hornets, bombarding their opponents with the most stinging, toxic verbal attacks.” U.S. polls show that over 75 percent of Americans believe that heated language makes political violence more likely. One study stated that concerns of hate-filled rhetoric is “particularly pronounced when directed at Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.”

“The [late] president’s rhetoric has helped to shift discourse norms in our country such that it is more acceptable among more people to denigrate and attack other groups of human beings,” Dr. Paudel notes, referencing Trump’s antiMuslim and anti-Hispanic rhetoric. “I believe that rhetoric is not merely capable of producing violence, but that there are times when rhetoric is violence. We can run, but we cannot hide from the implications that rhetoric has become as violent as our most watched television dramas of violence, mayhem, and murder.”

According to a press statement by Rep. Maxine Waters, “Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been more than 3,000 reported antiAsian hate crimes across the United States. In Los Angeles County alone, there were 245 incidents of hate against Asian Americans reported to Stop AAPI Hate from March 19 through October 28, 2020. Of these incidents, 76 percent involved verbal harassment, and nearly 8 percent involved physical assaults. These statistics only confirm what we already know to be true, and it is unequivocally unacceptable.” Waters’ statement goes on to condemn, “While Donald Trump is no longer the president, the effects of his anti-Asian rhetoric, scapegoating, and xenophobia continue to incite harassment, discrimination, and violence against the Asian American community.”

An academic study found that rhetoric has the power to emboldened individuals to express, and act on, pre-existing views they had once hidden. The study reports that Anti-Muslim remarks made by Trump grew on Facebook and other social media sites in 2016. This, in turn, led followers to increase their anti-Muslim. In subsequent days, hate crimes against Muslims increased by some 32 percent.”

Last May, a 17-year-old Bay Area high school student was arrested on suspicion of a hate crime and terroristic threats connected to his social-media posts that threatened of gun violence and used racial epithets against a school employee. A Facebook page called Chicago Code Blue attracted attention for inflammatory comments–such as “Every Thug Deserves a Slug”–after a white police officer was found guilty in the death of Laquan McDonald.

Facebook claims that defining and identifying what constitutes true hate speech or disinformation can be difficult. This year, only 38 percent of hate speech on Facebook’s site was flagged by its internal systems. However, they were successful in pinpointing and removing 99.5 percent of terrorist content.

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have all announced plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence and other technology aimed at finding and removing unwanted content from their sites. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, recently said that although the company’s longtime principle was free expression, they have been in discussions about how “safety should come first.”

“The problem is that leaders’ remarks do not fade away after they are posted,” Paudel insists. “Rhetoric from political leaders against their political opponents, minority groups, and other targets is often quickly magnified. Leaders with large social media followings will see their remarks retweeted and otherwise shared with millions of followers.”

To expound on Paudel’s point, a 2021 Hate continued to page 24

Karen Bass Responds to Misleading Scientology Ad

D.T. CARSON

Staff

As the race for Mayor of Los Angeles enters the final stretch, the war of words between Congresswoman Karen Bass and billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso has heated up and –in his current round of TV ads–is getting ugly.

The latest negative ad, dubbed “Church of Karen”, attempts to link the Congresswoman to the Church of Scientology, taking aim at a speech given by Bass at a Church of Scientology event over a decade ago.

In the speech Bass references "This day and this new Church of Scientology is an exciting moment because I know your goal and your commitment is truly to make a difference.” Reflecting on the speech, Bass–a lifelong member of the Baptist church– has said that she was unaware of the inner workings or controversy surrounding the Church of Scientology at the time and had she known, she never would have been part of it.

Speaking for the Bass campaign, Communications Director Sarah Leonard Sheahan stated: "Rick Caruso is a lifelong, anti-choice Republican and this misleading attack ad is straight out of the Republican playbook. Everybody knows Karen Bass condemns Scientology. LA knows Karen Bass shares our Democratic values and has always been on our side."

In a statement the campaign detailed a number of things they say the Caruso campaign has done to mislead voters, including the following: •Just minutes after reporters received an email claiming to be from a whistleblower in the Caruso campaign, without any evidence, Rick Caruso claimed he was hacked by the Bass campaign. He knows this is an outrageous and false smear. •Rick Caruso knows the truth about Karen Bass’ Master’s degree in social work -- it's part of why he awarded her an honorary doctorate degree and invited her to give the 2019 commencement address at USC. Still, he attacks her social work degree on a daily basis. •During the primary, Rick Caruso’s campaign darkened the face of Karen Bass in a campaign advertisement. "The question is, how low will Rick Caruso go?" Bass told ABC7 Eyewitness News. "Will he just continue spending money like this attacking me and hoping that he lowers my poll numbers? Or will he engage in what I believe voters really need to see, which is a dialogue and a debate and a discussion about the issues, and I don't believe he sees that as helpful to his campaign because I don't think he has serious answers for voters in Los Angeles."

Meanwhile, the Karen Bass for Mayor Campaign released an ad called "Varsity Blues" today that details the massive USC college admissions and bribery scandal that took place under Rick Caruso's leadership. "All you need to do is look at Rick Caruso's record to know he is in this for himself and his wealthy friends," Rep. Bass said. "When LA's wealthy elite bribed school officials, Rick Caruso did nothing to stop it from happening. Then, as Chair of the Board of Trustees at USC, Rick Caruso covered up an historic campus sexual assault scandal to protect himself. Rick Caruso has a lot of questions to answer. His record shows that Anglenos cannot trust him to be on our side.”

Gov. Newsom Signs Legislation Funding Nation’s First Black Women’s Think Tank

ANTONIO RAY HARVEY

CA Black Media

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a budget trailer bill approving $5 Million in funding to the California State University at Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) to house the California Black Women’s Think Tank.

The California Black Women’s Collective (CBWC) Empowerment Institute will be a founding partner in the development of the policy research institution.

The legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 179, authored by Assemblymember Phillip Ting (D-San Francisco), paves the way for establishing a policy institute that will focus on improving structures and practices that impact the lives of Black women and girls across the state.

“The California Black Women’s Collective has diligently worked hard over the last year to make the California Black Women's Think Tank, the first of its kind in the nation, happen,” Kellie Todd Griffin, speaking for CBWC, told California Black Media.

CBWC in partnership with Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), is a coalition of more than 1,500 Black Women leaders throughout California.

The coalition utilizes Black women’s expertise and collaboration skills in political, community, and social justice activism to amplify their voices, knowledge, and issues throughout the state.

On June 20, Newsom signed a $308 billion state budget that helps address rising costs for Californians, tackles the state’s most pressing needs, builds reserves, and invests in the state’s future.

AB 179, the Budget Act of 2022, implements funding for key priorities established by the California Black Legislative Caucus (CLBC) for this legislative session, including CBWC's Think Tank.

“We are thankful to the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) that included it as a priority-budget ask and CSUDH for partnering with us on it,” Todd Griffin said.

The CBWC’s goal for the Think Tank is for it to be “relevant and accessible” in providing an “independent, academic, research entity that provides a “rigorous analysis approach to policy,” CBWC explained in a written overview.

The state and CLBC are in support of addressing the need to expand work that drives systematic change, brought forth by CBWC. The Think Tank is an effort to serve as a research institution and resource for lawmakers, elected officials, business leaders, and advocating organizations willing to impact sustainable and scalable change.

“There are approximately 1.1 million Black females in California. However, there are 75% of Black households headed by single Black mothers and 80% of Black households have Black women breadwinners. There are economic, educational, health, and electoral barriers confronting Black women every day. In California, 23% of Black women live in poverty, according to the Women’s WellBeing Index from the California Budget and Policy Center,” CBWC stated.

According to the Status of Black Women report from the Women’s Policy Research (WPR) and information provided by CBWC, the median income for Black women in California is $43,000 a year- compared to $52,000 for White women and $69,000 for White men. The report by WPR also shared that the average cost of childcare for an infant makes up 28% of a Black woman’s average income in the state.

CBWC’s Think Tank intends to approach its work in a data-driven, strategic, and collaborative manner. Based on current information concerning Black women and girls in the state, the collective specifically aims to provide actionable policy solutions, remove persistent barriers that this group of women faces on a daily basis, and achieve racial and gender equity.

The CBWC Empowerment Institute falls in line with these initiatives to help Black women, Todd Griffin asserts.

“The magnitude of this funding allocation will be transformative as we continue the work to improve the quality of life of Black women and girls throughout California,” Todd Griffin said.

Attorneys for Mark Ridley-Thomas File Lawsuit Against the City of LA

On September 21, 2022, lawyers for Councilman Mark RidleyThomas formally served the City of Los Angeles with notice of the lawsuit filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on July 28, 2022, that seeks to rectify Controller Ron Galperin’s unauthorized, unlawful and politicized decision to terminate the councilman’s salary and benefits following his suspension from the City Council after he was indicted on unrelated federal charges.

The delay in serving Controller Ron Galperin and the City with the lawsuit was in response to two City Council motions that would, if acted upon by the City Council, have allowed City officials to handle the compensation issues outside of costly litigation.

The first was made by City Councilmember Paul Krekorian who introduced a motion requesting the City Attorney look into whether or not the Controller had the legal authority to make a unilateral decision to suspend pay benefits.

Councilmember Curren Price introduced a second motion, that asked City Attorney Mike Feuer to report to the council within 10 days on whether Galperin could legally suspend RidleyThomas’ pay. The motion claims that Ridley-Thomas is suffering an “extreme personal financial burden … especially if ultimately the litigation is resolved with exoneration...”

To date, neither City Attorney Mike Feuer nor Controller Ron Galperin have responded to the lawsuit.

Chancellor Reveals New and

Expanded Financial Aid for

Community College Students

New and updated financial support for the state's community college attendees, including changes to the Cal Grant and expanded aid for new and returning students, has been announced by California Community Colleges Chancellor Dr. Daisy Gonzales. Gonzales told California Black Media (CBM) that she wants college hopefuls to know that these programs which are described in the “I Can Go to College” campaign can be accessed at icangotocollege.com and that the grants do not need to be paid back. Aside from grants, the website offers online mentorships for students. The need for these programs, Gonzales said, was developed with students in mind. “What has been very intentional during this pandemic is that we went straight to the students. We're not guessing here,” she said. “We were very intentional in doing student outreach, interviews and focus groups.” The average tuition cost for state community college is a little under $2,000 per year while private community colleges average over $21,000 in tuition costs. The Chancellor's office asserts that there are over 200 programs available to community college students to help with the costs. 7