Skip to main content

Bill Seeks to Improve Futures of Young Boys and Men of Color

Support Provided By
Assembly member Nora Campos has introduced a bill to create California's first interagency task force on the Status of Boys and Men of Color to improve outcomes for young boys and men of color.
Assembly member Nora Campos has introduced a bill to create California's first interagency task force on the Status of Boys and Men of Color to improve outcomes for young boys and men of color. | Photo: Max Klingensmith/Flickr/Creative Commons License

In the wake of the Michael Brown and Ezell Ford shootings, California lawmakers are urging for the need to close barriers that continue to exist for young boys and men of color.

A newly introduced state bill would create one of the first ever interagency task forces in California to improve outcomes for young boys and men of color. AB 80 was introduced by Assembly member Nora Campos (D-San Jose).

"We must bring all the key agencies together and have a systematic discussion on what's preventing our men and women of color from thriving. AB 80 is the vehicle to make this happen," Assembly member Campos told KCET in an email.

With the introduction of the bill, Campos hopes to tackle deadly use of force by law enforcement as well as the educational shortcomings and income inequality facing low-income, immigrant, and LGBTQ communities in California.

"This would start productive conversations between the public and law enforcement, which will bring communities closer and help ease the tensions we see today," said Campos.

The 21-member task force would consist of members from the Legislature, as well as various state agencies including the Employment Development Department, UC offices, and Cal State University offices, according to legislative director Erasmo Viveros. The task force would focus on education, law enforcement, jobs, human services, among other fields. It would conduct a study and then propose recommendations, goals, and policies.

The bill would also align with President Obama's federal initiative, My Brother's Keeper, which aims to enhance opportunities for young boys and men of color nationwide.

Similar bills introduced in the last legislation session included Assembly member Steven Bradford's AB 914, which failed to pass.

AB 80 would also serve as a way to closely examine policies that are not working, explained Campos.

"For almost a decade, we have focused on cutting programs that served our most marginalized communities, all for the sake of balancing the budget," said Campos. "Well, California's future prosperity is now in danger. Now is the time to start chopping away at the policies that prevent our young people of color, and therefore all of California, from succeeding," she added.

Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer, recently elected as chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, believes that the creation of the task force will help create solutions to systemic problems that serve as impediments for boys and men of color in California.

The NAACP reports that African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites, and constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population.

"Across California, boys and men of color continue to face serious impediments to success, as evident by the percentage of those who graduate high school, attend college, obtain employment, and are incarcerated," Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer told KCET in an email. "AB 80 takes a significant step forward to addressing these issues, by convening a task force of leaders across the state to create solutions to these systemic problems," he added.

Debra Watkins, founder and executive director of California Alliance of African American Educators, believes more steps need to be done taken to address the education and opportunity barriers facing young boys and men of color. It starts with early education and STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math) programs to help young people of color succeed.

"What's needed is long-term scaffolding of their success, just like what we've done with our STEM program up here [in Northern California]," said Watkins. "And that's where you don't just drop resources on kids and expect them to navigate the system by themselves. No. People basically have to co-parent and stay with them and make sure they don't fall through the cracks," she said.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.