Antonio Ray Harvey
Inland Empire Philanthropist Reggie Webb Laid to Rest
Reginald “Reggie” Webb, a philanthropist and one of the most successful fast-food restaurant owners in Southern California, was laid to rest last month after a long battle with leukemia. He was 76. According to California State University, San Bernadino, Webb owned and operated 16 McDonald’s restaurants, employing over 1,100 workers. His expertise in business and passion for community involvement led to the creation of Webb Family Investments and Cooperative Economic Empowerment Movement, which provided support for Black-owned businesses as a means to build and circulate capital within the Black community.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
Reginald “Reggie” Webb, a philanthropist and one of the most successful fast-food restaurant owners in Southern California, was laid to rest last month after a long battle with leukemia. He was 76.
According to California State University, San Bernadino, Webb owned and operated 16 McDonald’s restaurants, employing over 1,100 workers. His expertise in business and passion for community involvement led to the creation of Webb Family Investments and Cooperative Economic Empowerment Movement, which provided support for Black-owned businesses as a means to build and circulate capital within the Black community.
Webb once led the National Black McDonald’s Operator Association, chaired the National Leadership Council, and was the founding chairperson of the Global Operator Leadership Council, representing McDonald’s franchisees worldwide.
Webb was a committed supporter of California State University San Bernardino Black Faculty Staff and Student Association Pioneer Breakfast, a program that raises scholarship funds for Black students, according to CSUSB. He also raised funding for the Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches’ annual Martin Luther King breakfast at Cal State San Bernardino.
He received the 365Black Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 in recognition of achievements of importance that bonded the African American community.
Activism
Comparing Histories: Black and Japanese American Advocates Talk Reparations and Justice
Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist Dr. Cheryl Grills and Bay Area-based attorney Don Tamaki, who were part of the nine-member reparations panel, spoke at the “Justice Through Action: Black Reparations-Reparative Justice” event hosted by local chapters of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in Sacramento on Feb. 8.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
Two former members of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans shared some of their experiences developing a 1,075-page report that detailed injustices suffered by African Americans during and after chattel slavery.
Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist Dr. Cheryl Grills and Bay Area-based attorney Don Tamaki, who were part of the nine-member reparations panel, spoke at the “Justice Through Action: Black Reparations-Reparative Justice” event hosted by local chapters of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in Sacramento on Feb. 8.
The event was held at the California Museum.
“The first impact that the overall report had on me is that it gave me a panoramic view and it was a panoramic view of the elephant in the room,” Grills, who attended the event virtually, told the audience.
Grills said the report the task force compiled presented an undiluted version of the Black experience in America/
“You could see the totality of the elephant,” she said. “The report gives you the fullness and density of the elephant, which was, at the same time, validating, overwhelming, and painful.”
The JACL is the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American-Pacific Islander Civil Rights Organization.
The JACL presentation was hosted to observe the 83rd anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.
That panel was part of the Northern California Time of Remembrance (NCTOR) committee’s Annual Day of Remembrance program organized in partnership with the California Museum.
Tamaki, who is Japanese American and the only non-Black member of the task force, said the Black and Japanese experiences in America have some parallels but there are significant differences as well.
“When you look at reparations, and this was the eye opener to me, it’s actually a unifying concept,” Tamaki said. “There’s no equivalence between four years in a concentration camp that our community experienced and 400 years of oppression.”
Tamaki explained, “We do have some things in common. Japanese know something about mass incarceration and profiling and the consequences. In that respect, there is a reason for all of us, whatever our background, to start looking at (reparations). We have to cure the body and not just put a band-aid on it.”
Grills is a clinical psychologist whose work focuses on community psychology. A Professor of Psychology at Loyola Marymount University, she us also a past president of the Association of Black Psychologists.
Tamaki is a senior counsel at Minami Tamaki LLP. He has spent decades working with AAPI legal services programs. In the 1980s, he participated in the Japanese American reparations movement and served on the pro bono legal team that reopened the landmark 1944 Supreme Court case of Fred Korematsu.
The case resulted in overturning Korematsu’s criminal conviction for violating the incarceration order that led to the imprisonment of 125,000 Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Earnest Uwazie, a Sacramento State University criminal justice professor and director of the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution, was one of more than 100 persons who listened to the two-hour discussion.
“It’s always great to hear from the people involved in the study of reparations and it is good to get a comparative with the Japanese experience,” said Uwazie. “This was extremely informative.”
Antonio Ray Harvey
In Letter, Conservative Org Threatens Mayor Bass, Other Officials, With Imprisonment
The conservative non-profit America First Legal sent letters to Bass, Attorney General Rob Bonta Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell and other California elected officials that they deem could interfere with federal immigration activities after Donald Trump is sworn-in as president on Jan. 20.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is one of 249 officials across the country who have been warned that they could be imprisoned for not supporting federal government efforts to detain and deport people illegally living in the United States.
The conservative non-profit America First Legal sent letters to Bass, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell and other California elected officials that they deem could interfere with federal immigration activities after Donald Trump is sworn-in as president on Jan. 20.
America First Legal is run by Trump’s incoming deputy Chief of Staff for policy Stephen Miller. After the election in November, Miller confirmed that he will push for the declaration of a national emergency and use the military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
On Nov. 12, Bass said in a statement that the city of Los Angeles would take swift action to implement protections for immigrant communities.
“Especially in the face of growing threats to the immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, I stand with the people of this city,” Bass stated. “This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better.”
The America First Legal letter to McDonnell’s office by email was dated Dec. 23. It states that the nonprofit “identified Los Angeles as a sanctuary jurisdiction that is violating federal law.”
“Federal law is clear: aliens unlawfully present in the United States are subject to removal from the country, and it is a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield them. It is also a crime to prevent federal officials from enforcing immigration laws. These laws were duly enacted by the people’s elected representatives,” the letter reads.
Antonio Ray Harvey
Black Caucus Members Appointed to Leadership Roles in State Legislature
On Jan. 3, McGuire announced that Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) was named to the Democratic leadership as Assistant Majority Whip. Richardson will also serve as chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor and Transportation. Akilah Weber-Pierson (D-San Diego) will serve as chair of Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services.

By Antonio Ray Harvey,
California Black Media
All 12 members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) have been assigned leadership roles in the State Senate and the State Assembly, according to separate statements issued by Senate President pro-Tempore Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister).
On Jan. 3, McGuire announced that Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) was named to the Democratic leadership as Assistant Majority Whip. Richardson will also chair the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor, and Transportation. Akilah Weber-Pierson (D-San Diego) will chair Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services.
The Senate Labor, Public Employment, and Retirement Committee will be chaired by Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles).
On Dec. 27, Rivas announced his Assembly leadership team and the chairpersons of all Assembly committees, including CLBC members: CLBC Vice Chair Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), chair of the Natural Resources Committee; Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), chair of the Transportation Committee; Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), chair of the Budget Human Services Committee; Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy), chair of the Emergency Management Committee; Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), chair of the Health Committee; Tina McKinnor (D- Inglewood), chair of the Public Employment and Retirement Committee; Mike Gipson (D-Carson), chair of the Revenue and Taxation Committee; and LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego), assistant majority leader for Policy.
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Poll: Tell Us What You Think About the Cost of Groceries in Oakland
-
Activism1 week ago
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
-
Activism3 weeks ago
OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
-
#NNPA BlackPress4 weeks ago
PRESS ROOM: Top Climate Organizations React to Trump’s Executive Orders Attacking Health, Environment, Climate and Clean Energy Jobs
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025
-
#NNPA BlackPress4 weeks ago
Trump Exploits Tragedy to Push Racist and Partisan Attacks
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee Reflects on Her Career as She Bids Farewell to Congress
-
#NNPA BlackPress4 weeks ago
Black Reaction to Trump DEI Blame on The Plane Crash