Upcoming State of Black California Event

Two important groups working to support Black based organizations in the State of California at the business, community and legislative levels will be presenting with our local Black leaders on Saturday, July 13, 9:30 am to 1 pm at Santa Barbara City College BC Forum Building.

The event titled, “State of Black California,” is a collaboration of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF).

The presenters are Dr. Corey Jackson, Assemblymember District 60; Marc Philpart, California Black Freedom Fund’s first Executive Director; Dr. Kim Tabari, Director Organizational Development at USC Equity Research Institute; Jordan Killebrew, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Juneteenth Santa Barbara and the Executive Director (VP), Public Affairs & Communications at SBCC; Simone Baker, Healing Justice Santa Barbara; and Audrey Gamble, Co-Executive Director of Gateway Educational Services.

The program includes a discussion on the historic 2024 Reparations Priority Bill Package introduced by the CLBC earlier this year, which has 14 measures covering Education, Civil Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Health and Business. There also will be a panel discussion for organizing and community-building for Black Santa Barbara residents, attendee engagement with members of the California Legislative Black Caucus on policies specific to Black Californians, and a presentation of data detailing key well-being indicators of Black residents of the Central Coast provided by the Equity Research Institute at USC.   

RSVP is required: www.stateofblackcalifornia.org/event/santa-barbara

411: https://cablackfreedomfund.org

BFF, formed in 2021 works to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations in California have the sustained investments and support they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism. 

https://blackcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/

CBLC formed in 1967, represents the legislative concerns and priorities of the African American community in the California Legislature. Its central mission is to advocate for the interests of Black Californians, remove roadblocks Black Americans face in every aspect of life, demand equity to eliminate disparities between racial groups, and increase African American participation and representation in all levels of government. Today, there are 12 members of the CLBC.