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Years
Vol. 66 No. 7 | Thursday, February 12, 2026
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Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 66 Years
BLACK HISTORY MONTH INSIDE THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
HAPPY 50th
THE AN
“Lift Ever yTHVEM WE CARRY: oice and Sing 1900
“Lift Every Voic e and Sing” by a choir of was first perf 500 schoolch ormed in pub ildren at the lic on February segregated Stan 12, 1900, ton School in Jacksonville, ften referred to as “The Black Florida.
O
Lift Every Voice National Anth em,” and Sing was a hymn writte poem by NAA n as a CP 1900. His broth leader James Weldon Johns on in er, John Rosam (1873-1954), ond Johnson comp osed the music for the A choir of 500 lyrics. schoolchildren Stanton Schoo l, where James at the segregated was principal, Weld first performed on Johnson public in Jacks the song in onvil le, Flori da to celebrate President Abrah am Lincoln’s birthd ay.
OUR NEGRO NATIONAL ANTHEM ISSUE!
Lift Every voice and PHOTOS: Wikipedia Sing sculpture by Augusta Savage
PASTOR RINGGOLD AND FIRST LADY!
At the turn of the tured the solem 20th century, Johnson’s lyrics eloquently capn Americans. Set yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black against the promise of the religious invocation of God and freed by NAACP and om, the song was later adop prom ted during the Civil inently used as a rallying cry Rights Movement and 1960s. of the 1950s
James Weldon PHOTO: BlackPastJohnson .org
SEE PAGE 6
”
—Courtesy of NAAC
P
We have a wo history behindnderful and it is going us… to greater ach to inspire us ievements. — Cart
er G. Woodson , American histo and scholar rian known as the father of Blac k history
SEE PAGE 7
(right).
Our Negro N
POLITICAL PLAYBACK: a
tional Anthe Something Ev m eryone Shou ld Know
LIF T EVERY
VOICE AND
CALIFORNIA CAPITOL NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED By James We
ldon Johnson,
Lift every voice and sing, ‘Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rollin g sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past Sing a song full has taught us, of the hope that the present has Facing the rising brought us; sun of our new day begun, Let us march on ‘til victory is won. Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chas tening rod, Felt in the days when hope unbo rn had died; Yet with a stead y beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
By Bo Tefu and Edward Henderson CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
circa 1900
SING
We have come over a way that with tears has We have come been watered, , treading our path through the slaughtere the blood of d, Out from the gloomy past, ‘Til now we stand at last Where the whit e gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our wear y years, God of our silen t tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forev er in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the place s, our God, wher Lest our hearts, e we met Thee drunk with the , wine of the worl Shadowed bene d, we forget Thee ath Thy hand, ; May we forev er stand, True to our God, True to our nativ e land.
CALIFORNIA INSURANCE BILL IGNITES BATTLE BETWEEN FIRE SURVIVORS AND BIG OIL
State Controller Malia M. Cohen: February Is Unclaimed Property Month in California California State Controller Malia M. Cohen and Assemblymember Avelino Valencia (D‑Anaheim) announced on Feb. 5 that the Legislature has adopted Assembly House Resolution (HR) 79, officially designating February 2026 as Unclaimed Property Month. See PLAYBACK page 2
Rasheed Ali and his wife, Gayle Nicholls-Ali, are longtime Altadena residents who lost their home of more than 30 years in the Eaton Fire on Jan. 7, 2025. Behind the Alis are Wiener, Asm. Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), and Asm. Alex Lee (D-Milpitas). PHOTO: Screenshot via CBM
By Antonio Ray Harvey CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
PHOTO: Freepik
Survivors of the Los Angeles fires and consumer advocates joined Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) at the State Capitol
on Feb. 5 to announce Senate Bill (SB) 982, the Affordable Insurance and Recovery Act (AIR Act). See INSURANCE BILL page 2
COUNTY BUDGET WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHTS FISCAL PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE As planning ramps up for the County’s upcoming budget, finance staff outlined what to expect during a budget workshop at Tuesday, January 27th’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The session emphasized the importance of transparency, collaboration, access to information and public input in County decision making. It was also an opportunity for residents to share their priorities while learning about future opportunities to participate in shaping the budget.
The County’s budget impacts nearly every resident. Regionally, the County provides emergency preparedness, criminal prosecution, detention facilities, social services, behavioral health programs, food and restaurant inspections, elections and beach water monitoring. In the unincorporated area, the County delivers municipal services like law enforcement, fire protection, road maintenance, building permits and animal services. Some cities also contract with the County for services. See WORKSHOP page 2 PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons, CC-By 3.0
STATE SETTLEMENT SHINES LIGHT ON CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS FOR BLACK STUDENTS By Joe W. Bowers Jr. CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA A state civil rights investigation into Yuba City Unified School District (YCUSD) has resulted in a settlement requiring district-wide corrective actions after allegations that a Black elementary school student was subjected to repeated racial harassment over multiple school years. The settlement, announced by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), stems from a 2024 complaint filed by the Black student’s family under the
PHOTO: Courtesy of Yuba City Unified School District website via CBM
Ralph Civil Rights Act. According to CRD, the alleged misconduct included incidents over multiple school years in which students used racial slurs while repeatedly kicking, slapping, or taunting the student. The complaint also alleged that a teacher pulled the student’s hair and used disparaging comments. CRD said the family raised concerns with school administrators multiple times, but the conduct allegedly continued.
The Yuba City Unified settlement highlights how existing civil rights laws can be used to protect Black students from racial harassment in all California schools -- particularly in districts where they represent a very small share of the overall student population. In Yuba City Unified, Black students account for 183 of the district’s 12,176 students, or roughly 1.5 percent of enrollment. See SETTLEMENT page 5
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