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Prosecutors move to clear 54,000 marijuana convictions in California By ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey speaks during a news conference to announce a partnership with a tech non-profit regarding marijuana-related convictions. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
After recreational marijuana was legalized in California, prosecutors in Los Angeles County expected a “tsunami” of petitions from people looking to clear their old criminal records. But the process turned out to be cumbersome and difficult to navigate, so most people didn’t even try. “Frankly, very few people took the legal action required to clear their records,” L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey said at a downtown news conference Monday. “And yet, the will of the voters was clear.”
The San Diego Monitor In a move to carry out that will, prosecutors in L.A. and San Joaquin counties announced plans to automatically dismiss or reduce some 54,000 marijuana-related convictions, part of a growing movement to offer a clean slate to Californians hamstrung by their past now that pot is legal. An estimated 50,000 convictions in L.A. County and 4,000 more in San Joaquin County are eligible. It’s unclear how far back those convictions go, but many involve possessing a small amount of marijuana and could date back decades. Prosecutors and public defenders are still working out how to notify people of the changes to their records. The effort is part of a partnership with Code for America, a nonprofit tech organization that developed a computer algorithm to quickly analyze county data to determine which cases are eligible to be cleared under Proposition 64. Prosecutors said decades of drug enforcement disproportionately targeted minorities. Studies have shown that people of color are more likely to be arrested and punished in connection with marijuana offenses, even though whites, blacks and Latinos use and sell marijuana at similar rates. The result, critics say, is a cycle of poverty and incarceration that has kept many minorities from getting jobs, going to school or finding housing. Continued on pg. 5
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The San Diego Monitor
THE BLACK MEDIA MILLENNIALS, STARTUP MILLENNIALS THAT’S FOR BLACK RUN BY
Harriet Tubman is already appearing on $20 bills whether Trump officials like it or not A New York designer took matters into his own hands after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin delayed replacing Andrew Jackson with Tubman. By DeNeen L. Brown Minutes after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that he was delaying the new Harriet Tubman $20 bill until 2028, a New York designer tweeted: “We’ll see about that.” Dano Wall, 33, has created a 3-D stamp that can be used to superimpose a portrait of Tubman over Andrew Jackson’s on $20 bills. Wall said he has sold out of the stamps and is hurrying to produce more. “My goal is to get 5,000 stamps out there,” said Wall. “If there are 5,000 people consistently stamping currency, we could get a significant percent of circulating $20 bills [with the Tubman] stamp, at which point it would be impossible to ignore.” Wall began manufacturing the stamps in 2017, soon after President Trump took office, and Mnuchin refused to commit to the Obama administration’s plan to put Tubman on
the $20 bill. Jackson, the nation’s seventh commander in chief, was a slave owner. Tubman, who escaped slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, helped lead hundreds of people to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Wall has been stamping as many $20s as he can and encouraging others to do the same. “Putting Harriet Tubman on the front of the $20 bill would have constituted a monumental symbolic change, disrupting the pattern of white men who appear on our bills," he said, "and, by putting her on the most popular note currently in circulation, indicates exactly what kind of a life we choose to celebrate; what values we, as a country, most hope to emulate. Harriet Tubman’s unparalleled grit, intelligence, and bravery over the course of her long life certainly make her worthy of such an honor. “ Last month Trump described the redesign of the $20 bill with Tubman’s image as “pure political correctness” and suggested she could be added to the $2 bill instead. Trump admires Jackson, the first populist to occupy the White House. READ ENTIRE STORY www.sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
Robert F. Smith, The Billionaire Who Pledged to Pay Off Morehouse’s Class Of 2019 Student Loans
Billionaire Robert F. Smith made waves Sunday after giving a generous donation to recent Morehouse College graduates. During his Sunday morning commencement speech at the prestigious men's HBCU, the wealthy businessman announced that he would create a fund
worth $40 million to pay off student loan debt. Who is Robert F. Smith? He was born on December 1, 1962, in Denver, Colorado, to educators Dr. William Robert Smith and Dr. Sylvia Myma Smith. READ MOREwww.sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
Entrepreneur TIP of the week THE 5 BESTeditor’s HASHTAGS FOR SDMNEWS pic of the week BLACK ENTREPRENEURS by Jeff Shuford If you’re a black entrepreneur attempting to build a profitable business, attracting the attention of investors, journalists, and customers can be tough. Not only do you need to fight for attention in an already crowded marketplace, but you also have to fight against stereotypes and thinly-veiled racial bias at the same time.
#SHOPBLACK
54,000 cases: A 2016 study found that although African Americans make up just 6% of California’s population, they account for almost a quarter of those serving jail time exclusively for marijuana offenses. “Those past harms were passed from generation to generation,” San Joaquin Dist. Atty. Tori Verber Salazar said. “This allows us to go back and correct those mistakes.” Salazar said her office slogged through a similar process without using technology to clear eligible convictions under Proposition 47, a 2014 law that reduced some low-level, non-violent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. It took four years to process 26,000 cases, she said, at a cost of $2.5 million. Code for America’s algorithm, she said, mined through the data in 12 seconds. She estimated the technology would save the county $1 million in time and resources. At marijuana dispensaries in Southern California, the announcement was well-received. “Now people who will have their convictions cleared can go back to living a normal life,” said Molly Collins, a 29-year-old budtender at Green Goddess Collective in Venice. “This is how we’re seeing L.A. make better changes.” Talks are underway to expand the program to other California counties, as well as other states where marijuana has been legalized. READ ENTIRE STORY www.sdmonitornews.com
Some of the smartest moves black entrepreneurs can make is to follow, interact with, and tag your online posts with the right social media hashtags. If you’re a black entrepreneur hoping to grow your business venture, these are the best hashtags you should be using: #BLACKPRENEUR The #blackpreneur hashtag is crucial for black entrepreneurs wanting to attract online attention. This hashtag not only identifies you as an entrepreneur of color, but it also helps connect you with the rapidly-growing black entrepreneur community. Be sure to use this hashtag on multiple social networking platforms including Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. #SHOPBLACK If you sell products as a black entrepreneur, consider integrating the #ShopBlack hashtag into your social media strategy. Combined with the #BuyBlack hashtag, you’ll increase attention for your black-owned business while upping your social media marketing game at the same time. READ MORE WWW.SDMONITORNEWS.COM
In February, San Francisco became the first to take on such an initiative, pledging to clear 9,300 convictions dating back decades as part of a sweeping effort to rethink “the war on drugs.”
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The San Diego Monitor
Rev. Shane Harris on the People’s Alliance and Being a Leader: Series 2 NOW ON
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The San Diego Monitor
Driving while Electric: Afro Futurism comes to Southeast
According to a recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, low-income communities of color are exposed to higher rates of air pollution from vehicles in California. In response to this, GRID Alternatives San Diego and other nonprofits will host this event to help local families access clean mobility programs such as the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program and One-Stop-Shop Pilot. More than 100 Southeast San Diego residents • • • • •
More than one hundred community members in Southeast San Diego will test drive electric cars around the neighborhood, and learn about new local and state programs that can help low-income drivers pay for electric cars and charging stations.
GRID Alternatives San Diego Pillars of the Community Electrify America I Am My Brother’s Keeper Charge Across Town
GRID Alternatives is America’s largest nonprofit solar installer, bringing clean energy technology and job training to underserved communities through a network of community partners and philanthropic supporters.
www.sdmonitornews.com
