Activism

White House Praises California Model; Says Equity Is Critical in COVID Fight

California was among the first states to start tracking racial data to determine why the disease, based on early infection patterns, was disproportionately impacting Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. Although the rate of infections by race narrowed over time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Health data still show higher COVID-19 death rates for African Americans than the general population.

Published

3 years ago

February 10, 2022

Oakland Post

The COVID-19 death rate is 15% higher for Black Californians than the statewide average. Nationally African Americans account for 12% of the country’s population, but they make up about 14% of COVID-19 related deaths.

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

Last week, Dr. Cameron Webb, the White House COVID-19 Response Team’s Senior Policy Advisor for Equity, discussed with California Black Media (CBM) the importance of fairness in the country’s fight against COVID. He complimented California’s pandemic response model.

“There has been a great model in California, which has always been a leader in some of these equitable initiatives,” Webb said.

He praised the work of Dr. Rohan C. Radhakrishna, deputy director for the California Department of Public Heath’s (CDPH) Office of Health Equity.

“Some of the work they’ve been doing on data collection in California had them tracking [COVID-19] across demographics in preparing to respond to the need. Without having the data, without knowing what the problems are, you can’t find the solution,” Webb said.

Although the rate of infections by race narrowed over time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Health data still show higher COVID-19 death rates for African Americans than the general population.

According to Webb, inequity in health care is one of the many challenges that need to be addressed as the country pushes to end the pandemic.

“Just to address it head on, we have an inequitable health care system,” Webb told CBM. “We have a health care system that does not serve all communities in a way that’s fair and that is rooted in systemic and structural dynamics that are themselves inequitable. We have inequitable risk factors, social risk, within communities.”

Webb said that the racial disparities that Americans have been struggling with during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to expose deeper systemic problems.

“COVID-19 really just highlights those inherent inequities and it makes it much more urgent, I would say, for some folks to find a strategy and solution,” Webb said.

During our interview, Webb provided an update on the state of the Black community during this pandemic.

“If you go back to 2021, back in late August, you actually saw that the rate of cases in the Black community was lower than the rate of cases in the white community,” Webb said.

“And that was all through September, all through October, and through most of November until the very end of November when Omicron started to surge. That’s when we saw the case rate jump up again in Black communities to be where it is now which is at 1.6 times the white case rate,” he pointed out.

Webb said that vaccination rates in the Black community are improving.

“In the earliest days of the vaccination effort, we saw pretty wide gaps emerge between white adults and Black adults. But by September of 2021, those rates were equivalent,” he said.

Webb pointed out that his team found that local communities around the country are taking steps to address racial disparities, too. However, challenges remain.

“We still see some gaps in who has been boosted,” he said. “We see some gaps in pediatric vaccination rates. We need to apply the same strategies that got our adult vaccination rates up to get kids vaccinated, and also to get more folks boosted.”

Webb said that they were seeing communities take the lead on that. “We are being as supportive as we can from the federal side because we know that it works.”

According to Webb, income inequality, housing instability, food insecurity, and educational inequity all correlate with health outcomes.

All of those factors, he said, contributed to communities of color facing disproportionate challenges during the pandemic.

“They leave a significantly higher burden of chronic illness in communities of color which leads to higher risk of poor outcomes with COVID-19,” Webb said.

Lastly, Webb described the White House’s approach to inequity in health care.

“We can’t solve all of the challenges that have developed in our society, in terms of structural inequity since 1619,” Webb said.

But in the short term, he said, there are acute issues that can be addressed, including:

Creating workarounds to get more resources to the Black community and other hardest-hit communities;
Medium-term fixes that can make sure these communities are more protected;
Change to the system so that five or 10 years from now, children are not saying we have an inequitable health care system.

California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Oakland’s COVID Data Show Racial Disparities in 2021 Deaths

Don't Miss

Derreck Johnson, an Oakland Entrepreneur, Community Leader Runs for Mayor of Oakland

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

California Holds the Line on DEI as Trump Administration Threatens School Funding

The conflict began on Feb. 14, when Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), issued a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that DEI-related programs in public schools could violate federal civil rights law. The letter, which cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions, ordered schools to eliminate race-based considerations in areas such as admissions, scholarships, hiring, discipline, and student programming.

Published

45 seconds ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Shutterstock

By Joe W. Bowers Jr
California Black Media

California education leaders are pushing back against the Trump administration’s directive to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in its K-12 public schools — despite threats to take away billions in federal funding.

The conflict began on Feb. 14, when Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), issued a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that DEI-related programs in public schools could violate federal civil rights law. The letter, which cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions, ordered schools to eliminate race-based considerations in areas such as admissions, scholarships, hiring, discipline, and student programming.

According to Trainor, “DEI programs discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”

On April 3, the DOE escalated the pressure, sending a follow-up letter to states demanding that every local educational agency (LEA) certify — within 10 business days — that they were not using federal funds to support “illegal DEI.” The certification requirement, tied to continued federal aid, raised the stakes for California, which receives more than $16 billion annually in federal education funding.

So far, California has refused to comply with the DOE order.

“There is nothing in state or federal law that outlaws the broad concepts of ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ or ‘inclusion,’” wrote David Schapira, California’s Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, in an April 4 letter to superintendents and charter school administrators. Schapira noted that all of California’s more than 1,000 traditional public school districts submit Title VI compliance assurances annually and are subject to regular oversight by the state and the federal government.

In a formal response to the DOE on April 11, the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond collectively rejected the certification demand, calling it vague, legally unsupported, and procedurally improper.

“California and its nearly 2,000 LEAs (including traditional public schools and charter schools) have already provided the requisite guarantee that its programs and services are, and will be, in compliance with Title VI and its implementing regulation,” the letter says.

Thurmond added in a statement, “Today, California affirmed existing and continued compliance with federal laws while we stay the course to move the needle for all students. As our responses to the United States Department of Education state and as the plain text of state and federal laws affirm, there is nothing unlawful about broad core values such as diversity, equity and inclusion. I am proud of our students, educators and school communities who continue to focus on teaching and learning, despite federal actions intended to distract and disrupt.”

California officials say that the federal government cannot change existing civil rights enforcement standards without going through formal rule-making procedures, which require public notice and comment.

Other states are taking a similar approach. In a letter to the DOE, Daniel Morton-Bentley, deputy commissioner and counsel for the New York State Education Department, wrote, “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion.’ But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

17 minutes ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Newsom Fights Back as AmeriCorps Shutdown Threatens Vital Services in Black Communities

“When wildfires devastated L.A. earlier this year, it was AmeriCorps members out there helping families recover,” Gov. Newsom said when he announced the lawsuit on April 17. “And now the federal government wants to pull the plug? We’re not having it.”

Published

2 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

California for All College Corps.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing the federal government over its decision to dismantle AmeriCorps, a move that puts essential frontline services in Black and Brown communities across California at risk, the Governor’s office said.

From tutoring students and mentoring foster youth to disaster recovery and community rebuilding, AmeriCorps has been a backbone of support for many communities across California.

“When wildfires devastated L.A. earlier this year, it was AmeriCorps members out there helping families recover,” Newsom said when he announced the lawsuit on April 17. “And now the federal government wants to pull the plug? We’re not having it.”

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration is behind the rollback, which Newsom calls “a middle finger to volunteers.”

Meanwhile, Newsom’s office announced that the state is expanding the California Service Corps, the nation’s largest state-run service program.

AmeriCorps has provided pathways for thousands of young people to gain job experience, give back, and uplift underserved neighborhoods. Last year alone, over 6,000 members across the state logged 4.4 million hours, tutoring more than 73,000 students, planting trees, supporting foster youth, and helping fire-impacted families.

The California Service Corps includes four paid branches: the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, Youth Service Corps, California Climate Action Corps, and AmeriCorps California. Together, they’re larger than the Peace Corps and are working on everything from academic recovery to climate justice.

“DOGE’s actions aren’t about making government work better. They are about making communities weaker,” said GO-Serve Director Josh Fryday.

“These actions will dismantle vital lifelines in communities across California. AmeriCorps members are out in the field teaching children to read, supporting seniors and helping families recover after disasters. AmeriCorps is not bureaucracy; it’s boots on the ground,” he said.