Commentary

COMMENTARY: Black and Asian, Oakland Native Justin Jones Embodies Unity in Tennessee Statehouse Showdown

Since it happened over the Easter holiday, the parallel cannot be overlooked. Resurrection was in the air. Just five days after his political death, Oakland native Justin Jones, the newly minted voice of the voiceless, an advocate for an assault-weapons ban and an overall generational change for a more inclusive democracy in America, was not just back in the Tennessee state house–to all the world, he was also Black.

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2023

Oakland Post

Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones was expelled by GOP colleagues for supporting gun reforms following a mass murder at a Nashville school on March 27. Photo courtesy www.votejustinjones.com.

By Emil Guillermo

Again.

The Associated Press headline was pretty unequivocal.

“Black lawmaker who was expelled reinstated to Tennessee seat,” blared the online Yahoo news site.

The lede was even clearer.

“One of two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House was reinstated Monday after Nashville’s governing council voted to send him straight back to the Legislature.”

Great, but only partially right.

Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News gave it a crack, but alas, he too fell short.

In “that political drama in Tennessee late today,” the anchor declared on the network’s evening news: “The Nashville Council voted to reinstate one of the Black state lawmakers expelled last week over protests….”

All that was great. But when it comes to Jones’ race, Lester was only half correct.

Jones isn’t just Black. He’s also Filipino by his mother’s side. He’s Justin Shea Bautista Jones, who grew up in Oakland and in the East Bay. And he fully embraces his Filipino-ness. As mentioned in his campaign collateral, Jones is as proud of his Filipino heritage as he is of his African side.

He’s a mixed-race Asian American.

No big deal? I’m making it one.

We all should see Jones’ Asian American Filipino side.

If Jones and his fellow expelled legislator, Justin Pearson, are all about inclusion, youth, and bringing in all the people from the margins to be seen and heard, then why just outright ignore Jones’ Filipino/Asian American side?

Why not mention that Jones represents even more cultural diversity than anyone thinks?

The Washington Post got it right last Thursday, when, in one of the first stories about the Tennessee expulsions, the paper referred to Jones as being of Black and Filipino heritage.

Even on MSNBC, Alex Wagner, herself part Burmese descent, acknowledged Jones fully as Black and Filipino. Other media outlets, not so much. Of course, Asian/Filipino media did.

Acknowledging Jones’ mixed race specifically was 100% accurate.

But by the time Jones was reinstated, AP and others simply ignored Jones’ mother’s blood and dropped expressing America’s real diversity.

We’ve seen it before. Tiger Wood’s mom is Thai, and he made a big deal about his Asian side when he was younger. But his term to accurately describe himself, “Cablanasian,” didn’t stick, and most everyone just found it easier to backslide to Black.

Vice President Kamala Harris has always seemed more partial to her African American side. During her run for president, it was like she kept her Asian-ness (her mother is an Indian immigrant) as a handy aside. And then she made history, and who could ignore that she was Black and South Asian, the highest-ranking Black and Asian American woman in our democracy’s history?

Still, most media references have gone back to ignoring it. Perhaps it’s assumed everyone knows Harris is of mixed race, or editors feel when it comes to Harris, her race is so obvious it’s irrelevant?

But it’s not irrelevant.

It helps to counter the ongoing battle in our country over racial identity.

With the GOP waging a culture war on denying our country’s racial history, it’s become imperative for the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community to proudly declare our heritage and race, especially when it comes to newsmakers whose cultural backgrounds are factual identifiers that help people understand the new America.

A name and an age are usually the two most important facts about a person journalistically. But race should be right up there too.

Jones can’t just be Black. Not when his physical presence (his hair, skin, size) clues us in that he’s also representing another ethnic minority as well, Asian American Filipinos.

One’s race should be as important as people boldly declaring their pronouns. (Yes, I’m a he/him, though I feel solidarity with the they/thems.)

But that’s gender grammar. Race is about blood, fluid and undeniable. But too often ignored.

I’ve always said when we have a love interest in one another, maybe we’ll see an end to the racism. According to the numbers, it’s slowly happening.

In 2020, the percentage of mixed-race people was up from 2.9% of the population or 9 million people in 2010, to nearly four times that at 10.2% or 33.8 million people.

With so many mixed-race American people according to the last Census, we have to stop being lazy, as in defaulting to Black when someone is really Black with Asian, or Latinx, or Caucasian, or whatever.

Just get it right, as in the case of Justin Jones. Make his ‘Lola’ (Granny) Harriet from the Philippines happy.

Don’t ignore his Asian American Filipino side. And don’t let the news media get away with saying, “the Black lawmaker.”

Make them say it all. In the overt language of diversity, Jones is a Black Asian American Filipino.

If we’re all slinging pronouns, declare your race too, fully and not in part.

Let us all be seen.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See him on www.amok.com

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

Published

2 days ago

June 20, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces

It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.

As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.

At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.

Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.

Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.

Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.

This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.

Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.

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Activism

OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark

Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook. Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook

As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.

Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.

Our community is hurting. Things have to change.

The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.

Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.

I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.

SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.

For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.

This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.

Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.

Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.

About the Author

Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.