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California Sen. Alex Padilla Introduces Legislation to Expand Higher Ed Opportunities for Latino Students
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, California Senator Alex Padilla introduced legislation initiatives to expand opportunities for Latino students in higher education and highlight Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI).

By Magaly Muñoz
Post Staff
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, California Senator Alex Padilla introduced legislation initiatives to expand opportunities for Latino students in higher education and highlight Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI).
The first part of the bipartisan legislation is being supported by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J) to establish the week of September 11th as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, according to a press release from Padilla’s office.
Hispanic Serving Institutions make up about 23% of all colleges in California with another 47 emerging institutions. Colleges have to have 25% of their population be Latino or Hispanic students to be considered an HSI.
The second part of Padilla’s legislation, co-led in the House of Representatives by Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-Texas-20) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico), is the Hispanic Educational Resources and Empowerment (HERE) Act that looks to give resources to Latino students to bridge the educational gap.
Twenty-eight percent of Latinos have an associate’s degree or higher compared to that of their white counterparts with 48%. At two-year institutions, Hispanics’ graduation rate was five percentage points lower than that of their white, non-Hispanic peers and at four-year institutions, Hispanics’ graduation rate was 13 percentage points lower than that of their white, non-Hispanic peers, according to Exelencia in Education.
Padilla said the grants are tailored to help students through the application and transition process for college. The grants would also be put toward non-academic needs that deter students from achieving success in higher education.
“Our current education system has failed to sufficiently support Latino college recruitment and retention – just 28% of Latino adults have an associate’s degree or higher,” Padilla said in an email to The Post. “My legislation invests in both the educational and economic success of the next generation of Latinos in the workforce by creating a new federal grant program to fund partnerships between Hispanic-Serving Institutions and school districts with significant Hispanic and Latino enrollment to improve college readiness and completion.”
Some universities in California are already making changes to reflect the focuses that the HERE Act is looking to make.
San Francisco State University has a 36% population of Hispanic students enrolled in the school and initiatives are being made by leadership to help foster success for them.
SFSU President Lynn Mahoney said coming back to post-pandemic, in-person instruction in 2021 made her reflect on what more the university could be doing. She said being an HSI shouldn’t just be because of the chance of demographics, it should come with intention, and the campus should reflect the students’ needs.
“We recognize that students need to have faculty, staff and administrators that reflect their own ethnic and racial backgrounds. And this has not been easy in some cases. The pipeline is small,” Mahoney said.
Latinos makeup only 16% of staff and administration, and 9% of faculty, according to Robert King, the director of Communications at SFSU. Mahoney said STEM-related majors are where they’re lacking the most Latino and Hispanic representation.
Mahoney said some of the programs they have on campus are the Latino Student Success Center. Established in 2022, Spanish language orientations and a Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning welcome educators to learn how to become culturally competent in their teachings when they have such a diverse class makeup.
“The future of California is our first-generation students of color, and Latinx students are the fastest-growing population here,” Mahoney said. “This state will only continue to be the best place in the world, if, in fact, we get college degrees into the hands of our Latinx students. So this is an investment that the state and every single citizen has to make.”
PIQE, or Parent Institute for Quality Education, is an organization that works primarily with high school students and parents, but has programs that address major gaps in education like STEM and offer transitional tools to help with higher education.
Andrew Ferson, the director of Policy and Partnerships at PIQE, said their “Family Bridge to College” looks to address what they call the “summer melt.”
“Summer melt is this idea that you have students who are accepted into and then intending to enroll in higher education, but then in the summer, for whatever reason they basically stopped going to or ended up not going to college,” Ferson said.
He said the program works with the districts and colleges to bring in families during the summer to foster the relationships early on and keep students on track with what they need for higher education. They’ve also partnered with UC San Diego to bring in professors and counselors to familiarize parents and students with resources and tools that the university offers.
Ferson said although they work primarily with high school families, a lot of the needs that parents are worried about – like digital divide and financing– can also be seen in college family concerns. He added that legislation, like what Padilla is introducing, is “smart policy” and addresses the relationship that colleges should have with families.
“I certainly hope that that bill gets passed and funded,” Ferson said. “But in the meantime, it’s on all of us to be actively reaching out to families and forming those relationships and meeting them where they’re at so that all of our students can succeed.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.”

By Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
46th President of the United States: 2021—2025
The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160th anniversary, I went there to join them.
You can read about the events of Juneteenth, but there’s nothing quite like going to Galveston and seeing where it all happened.
After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, Union troops marched across the South for two months, freeing enslaved people along the way. Their final stop was Galveston, an island off the Gulf coast of Texas. There, on June 19, 1865, Union troops went to Reedy Chapel, a church founded in 1848 by enslaved people, and posted a document titled simply “General Order #3.”
“The people of Texas are informed,” it said, “that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
We can only imagine the joy that spread through Galveston – and across the state and nation – on that day and those that followed.
Yesterday, there was once again joy in Galveston, with a parade, picnic, and fireworks. There was also great solemnity, because Juneteenth is a sacred day – a day of weight and power.
The Book of Psalms tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of that joyful morning to come.
As President, I had the great honor of signing the law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was our nation’s first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1983.
Our federal holidays say a lot about who we are as a nation. We have holidays celebrating our independence… the laborers who build this nation… the servicemembers who served and died in its defense.
And now, we also have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.
Signing that law was one of my proudest acts as President.
Yet for 156 years, Juneteenth was not written about in textbooks or taught in classrooms. Still today, there are those who say it does not deserve a holiday. They don’t want to remember the moral stain of slavery and the terrible harm it did to our country.
I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.
I also believe that it’s not enough to commemorate the past. We must also embrace the obligation we have to the future. As Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead.” And right now, we Americans need to keep the faith and do the work.
In honor of Juneteenth, let’s help people register to vote.
For decades, we fought to expand voting rights in America. Now we’re living in an era when relentless obstacles are being thrown in the way of people trying to vote. We can’t let those tactics defeat us. In America, the power belongs with the people. And the way we show that power is by voting.
So let’s reach out to family, friends and neighbors – especially those who have never voted before. Remind them that with voting, anything is possible. And without it, nothing is possible.
Yesterday in Galveston, we gathered in Reedy Chapel to commemorate Juneteenth, just like people have done for 160 years and counting. We prayed, sang, and read General Order #3 again. The pews were full of families. How many people must have prayed for freedom inside those walls. How many must have sent fervent thanks to God when slavery finally ended.
I remembered the words of my late friend John Lewis. He said, “Freedom is not a state. It is an act.”
Juneteenth did not mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must continue to work toward that promise. For our freedom. For our democracy. And for America itself.
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Cities Across the U.S. Shrink or Cancel Juneteenth Events as DEI Support Wanes
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship. In many communities, the once-growing recognition of the holiday is facing sharp resistance tied to the unraveling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
In Denver, Colorado, the annual Juneteenth Music Festival, one of the largest in the nation—was cut from two days to one. Organizers said more than a dozen corporate sponsors walked away from commitments, leaving them with a financial gap that almost canceled the event. Norman Harris, the festival’s executive director, said several companies “pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year.” Harris credited grassroots donors and small businesses for stepping in when larger backers stepped aside.
In Colorado Springs, the local celebration was relocated to the Citadel Mall parking lot after support from previous sponsors disappeared. Organizers noted that where there were once dozens of corporate partners, only five remained. The downsized event was pieced together with limited resources, but community leaders said they refused to let the holiday go unacknowledged.
Scottsdale, Arizona, canceled its Juneteenth observance after the city council voted to dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in February. Without the office in place, the city offered no support for planning or funding, leaving residents without an official celebration.
In San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that had been earmarked for Juneteenth programming. Organizers said the decision forced them to personally finance key elements of the event, including cultural exhibits, performances, and youth engagement activities.
Bend, Oregon, called off its Juneteenth event entirely. Organizers cited political tensions and safety concerns, saying they could not secure the partnerships needed to proceed. A public statement from the planning committee described the current climate as “increasingly volatile,” making it difficult to host a safe and inclusive event.
West Virginia, which has recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday since 2017, will not sponsor any official events this year. State leaders pointed to budget constraints and recent decisions to eliminate DEI programming across agencies as the reasons for stepping away from public observance.
Austin, Texas, has also reduced its Juneteenth programming. While the city has not canceled events outright, organizers said diminished city support and fewer private contributions forced them to focus only on core activities.
“Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,” said Harris. “But it shows how fragile that support has become.”
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