Dijon Kizzee’s last living act was riding his bike on the wrong side of a residential road in Westmont, Los Angeles’ poorest neighborhood. In Black neighborhoods where car congestion is routine, protected bike lanes are lacking, and blocked sidewalks are expected, riding on the sidewalk or against traffic is a regular practice. It’s used as […]
California
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Partner Content
History of Racism Leaves Black Californians Most at Risk from Oil and Gas Drilling, Research Shows
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here. Decades before movie moguls produced celluloid heroes, oil claimed the spotlight in Los Angeles. California’s oil industry took off in the mid-1870s just 30 miles […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
The Quiet Toll of Oil Drilling on Black Los Angeles
When Dominic Gibbs’ family moved to the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles in the 1990s, the young child had a lingering question for his mother: What is that massive 20-foot-tall pump next to our house? “I always think about when I first saw the pump, because I thought it was just something that happened […]
Posted inHousing, Money
Housing and Homelessness Are on the Ballot. Will Unhoused People Have a Say?
Most Americans across racial and ethnic groups say affordable housing is a serious problem where they live, according to an August 2022 poll. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the nation has a shortage of 7 million affordable and accessible rental units, made worse in recent years by the convergence of the coronavirus pandemic […]
Posted inMoney, Wealth Gap
California’s Reparations Plan Exposes Deep Divides in Black Communities
With a packed house behind him, Milton Hall, a Los Angeles Mid-City Neighborhood Council representative, approached the microphone. Under his breath, he lamented about missing the beginning of his golf game to attend this meeting, a gathering of California’s reparations task force for descendants of American slavery. The task force is the first of its […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Groundbreaking Legislation Would Seal Criminal Convictions for Many Californians
Millions of Californians with criminal records will receive a second chance at normal lives after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a historic bill that seals their criminal convictions from the eyes of potential employers, landlords, and licensing agencies. The legislation, which eliminates certain felony convictions from background checks, could be revolutionary for California’s Black communities, which […]
Posted inCOVID-19, Health
As COVID Precautions Drop, Black Americans Remain More Affected — and More Concerned
Pastor Robert Pope has been talking about COVID-19 since the virus first took hold. He talks about it at the gas station, at restaurants, and – most frequently – at his church. Pope has made Encanto Southern Baptist Church in San Diego a hub for pandemic education, testing and vaccination. He’s been following the statistics, […]