20 years of repayments leave Black borrowers still owing 95%  By Charlene Crowell Although the year 2020 has been dominated by continuing news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic’s rising death toll that has now claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 Americans, it is not the only challenge facing the nation. Amid rising unemployment and food ...

By Dianne Anderson Some people fight with signs and protests, others with fists or guns. Walter Hawkins, always known as the “gentle giant” will be remembered for how he fought the power through data sets and charts. Mr. Hawkins passed away last week. A trusted voice in the community, Hawkins analyzed facts to fight the ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Nat’l Correspondent President-elect Joe Biden wants to immediately erase student loan debt, a move that could prove more meaningful for African American students who, on average, owe much more than anyone. With the freeze placed on student loan repayments set to end December 31, Biden has gotten behind ...

By Dianne Anderson Retirement beckons, and Carolyn Tillman is having a really good time reflecting on what life will be like with a little breather from her regular hustle and bustle about town. She’s been sticking and moving for decades from one community project to the next. But in her spare time, she’s known as ...

By Dianne Anderson Dani Andrade reminisces about her old stomping ground, A.B. Miller High School, and growing up in Fontana at a time when opportunities were slim or none. She started high school during the 2008 Great Recession when the campus didn’t have enough counselors, there were steep budget cuts, and her father had just ...

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media  The California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) will hold its fourth annual conference in a virtual setting this year. Scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12 and Friday, Nov. 13, the statewide conference will be centered on the theme “Blueprint for Educational Equity.” Organizers say attendees can look forward ...

 Rep. Pete Aguilar announced that the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) received $737,520 for school violence-prevention and mental-health support programs and $87,350 for body-worn cameras to help keep SBCUSD police officers and students safe. The grants were administered by the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The funding will be ...

By Dianne Anderson Apparently, voters are not slacking off as drop boxes have sprung up across the nation and are getting a lot of action. As of Tuesday, over nine million early votes have already been cast. By now, everyone should have their ballot with pre-printed barcode, ready to walk it into their County Registrar ...

After 42 years of service in public education, Dr. Judy D. White will retire from her role as Riverside County’s 12th Superintendent of Schools effective November 1. “When I was a young girl, teachers and educators helped me believe that I could accomplish great things and encouraged me to develop my voice. Over the last ...

(We apologize that this story did not include a response from LBUSD when first posted. That error has been corrected) By Dianne Anderson Parents and local advocates were prepared to give input at a recent LBUSD board meeting regarding the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan, specifically about why Black students are not mentioned in the ...