Commentary

COMMENTARY: Clean Air Is a Human Right

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — My baby brother suffered from acute asthma his entire childhood, and witnessing his pain was tough on me, but even more so for my parents. It was disheartening to watch him suffer and miss school when he had trouble breathing. My parents, Mexican immigrants with limited education, worked multiple low-wage jobs to make ends meet. They often had to skip work to take care of him, which also hurt our ability to purchase appropriate treatments for him. For low-income families like mine, having health issues presents hard decisions about priorities and survival.

Published

6 years ago

May 8, 2019

brandon

By Noemí Gallardo, Senior Manager of Public Policy, Sunrun Inc.

My baby brother suffered from acute asthma his entire childhood, and witnessing his pain was tough on me, but even more so for my parents. It was disheartening to watch him suffer and miss school when he had trouble breathing. My parents, Mexican immigrants with limited education, worked multiple low-wage jobs to make ends meet. They often had to skip work to take care of him, which also hurt our ability to purchase appropriate treatments for him. For low-income families like mine, having health issues presents hard decisions about priorities and survival.

This is not a unique story. Asthma is a debilitating, life-threatening ailment that is only getting more common and costly in the U.S. Asthma costs $56 billion each year, directly hurting both the health and financial security of those afflicted. Our nation’s productivity also takes a hit, with 10.5 million missed days of school and 14.2 million missed days of work annually.

Poor air quality caused by dirty, fossil-fueled power plants is a significant contributor to the growth of this serious disease, and polluting power plants are overwhelmingly located in low-income and minority communities. According to the NAACP, approximately 68 percent of African Americans live or have lived within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant. Meanwhile, a report by the Clean Air Task Force found nearly 2 million Latinos, like my family, live within a half mile of existing oil and gas facilities. My brother and I were born and lived just miles from the now-shutdown power plants located in Oxnard, California. Luckily, he overcame the asthma — not everyone does.

There is a direct connection between replacing fossil fuels with solar energy and the reduction of the risks of asthma, heart attacks and other ailments, according to research from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Health. Replacing these power plants with solar power is one important step we can take as a nation in curbing asthma as a public health epidemic.

A disproportionate burden

Asthma impacts some communities more than others. According to the above NAACP study, an African American or Latino child is twice as likely to die from an asthma attack compared to a Caucasian American child. African Americans in particular have much higher asthma rates than the general population, with nearly 17% of African American children having asthma, the highest rate among racial and ethnic groups and one that affects both educations and careers.

These are inequities with real consequences, but also a phenomena that is entirely preventable. We have the tools and technology today to reduce the prevalence and danger of asthma for all—especially for our children.

The right way forward

In a recent report, Sunrun outlined the potential to change the standard of living for residents and create cleaner, fresher air by displacing gas peaker plants in Los Angeles with home solar and batteries. This could bring both electricity savings and clean energy to 25,000 homes and 2,500 apartment buildings in traditionally underserved and low-income communities. These are areas with low solar penetration, and also areas most likely to host gas-fired power plants. Using solar can address smog issues today in the communities most affected by the lack of clean air.

Solar battery technology has improved which is important for energy storage and the cost for households to have solar has steadily been dropping over the last two decades. As the cost of solar drops, the opportunity opens up for everyone to have access regardless of socioeconomic status.

Smart policy and green bank financing provide financial support for lower-income residents to buy or lease solar systems. For example, the non-profit GRID Alternatives leverages additional funds to reduce project costs and provide workforce development opportunities for disadvantaged communities. These efforts must be supported by smart state policies that empower innovative companies to expand access to solar, such as redirecting low-income energy bill subsidies into grants that eligible customers can apply to home solar and battery systems.

Clean air should be a human right—not a luxury for the wealthy. My family’s experience has inspired me to become an advocate for low-income communities, ensuring that children like my brother won’t continue to suffer from asthma. On this World Asthma Day, let’s mobilize to fight the disease at its cause. Cleaner air equals healthier lungs, and with solar power, we can move towards fresh air and a healthier planet.

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Sentinel

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 minute ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

18 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Afterlife of Malcolm X

Betty Shabazz didn’t like to go to her husband’s speeches, but on that February night in 1965, he asked her to come with their daughters to the Audubon Ballroom in New York. Did Malcolm X sense that something bad would happen on that night? Surely. He was fully aware of the possibility, knowing that he’d been “a marked man” for months because of his very public break with the Nation of Islam.

Published

18 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Book Cover of the Afterlife of Malcolm X. Courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: by Mark Whitaker, c.2025, Simon & Schuster, $30.99, 448 pages

Who will remember you in fifty years’ time?

A handful of friends – at least those who are still around – might recall you. Your offspring, grandkids, and greats, maybe people who stumble upon your tombstone. Think about it: who will remember you in 2075? And then read “The Afterlife of Malcolm X” by Mark Whitaker and learn about a legacy that still resonates a half-century later.

As the news of his murder spread around New York and around the world, his followers and admirers reacted in many ways. His friend, journalist Peter Goldman, was “hardly shocked” because he also knew that Malcolm’s life was in danger, but the arrest of three men accused of the crime didn’t add up. It ultimately became Goldman’s “obsession.”

Malcolm’s co-writer for The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Alex Haley, quietly finished the book he started with Malcolm, and a small upstart publishing house snatched it up. A diverse group of magazines got in line to run articles about Malcolm X’s life, finally sensing that White America “’needed his voice even more than Blacks did.’”

But though Malcolm X was gone, he continued to leave an impact.

He didn’t live long enough to see the official founding of the Black Panther Party, but he was influential on its beginning. He never knew of the first Kwanzaa, or the triumphs of a convert named Muhammad Ali.

Malcolm left his mark on music. He influenced at least three major athletes.

He was a “touchstone” for a president …

While it’s true that “The Afterlife of Malcolm X” is an eye-opening book, one that works as a great companion to the autobiography, it’s also a fact that it’s somewhat scattered. Is it a look at Malcolm’s life, his legacy, or is it a “murder mystery”?

Turns out, it’s all three, but the storylines are not smooth. There are twists and tangents and that may take some getting used-to. Just when you’re immersed, even absorbed in this book, to the point where you forget about your surroundings, author Mark Whitaker abruptly moves to a different part of the story. It may be jarring.

And yet, it’s a big part of this book, and it’s essential for readers to know the investigation’s outcome and what we know today. It doesn’t change Malcolm X’s legacy, but it adds another frame around it.

If you’ve read the autobiography, if you haven’t thought about Malcolm X in a while, or if you think you know all there is to know, then you owe it to yourself to find “The Afterlife of Malcolm X.”

For you, this is a book you won’t easily forget.