by Aïda Jones

On April 8, in Department 26 of San Francisco Superior Court, Kevin Epps, Executive Editor of the San Francisco Bay View newspaper, was sentenced to six years and eight months in state prison. 

You can read that in KQED or Mission Local. Or in the SF Chronicle’s article that was filed by a climate reporter and cited KQED as its source — where you’ll also learn that two district attorneys refused to file charges against Mr. Epps before a third did, nine years after the killing.

What you cannot read there is how that sentence was arrived at. 

Judge Brian Ferrall claimed he was bound by the penal code to sentence Mr. Epps to three, six or 11 years. He acknowledged Epps’s trauma, his community contributions, the mitigating weight of a nonviolent criminal history and the fact the single prior felony offense was nearly two decades earlier. He dismissed the three-strikes enhancement, the prior prison term enhancement, and the prosecution’s most aggressive arguments. 

The record suggests a balanced proceeding.

It was not.

What the transcript cannot convey is the quality of the judge’s skepticism — applied exclusively in one direction. Every mitigating factor offered on behalf of Epps was diminished, including the defense’s trauma expert whose assessment the judge dismissed as “cursory.”

Meanwhile, the prosecution’s portrait of Marcus Polk went unchallenged from the bench: a canonization of a man who, by the court’s own record, was high on methamphetamine, had been sent away earlier in the day after being in an altercation, and returned — uninvited — to a home full of children, the home of a man he knew didn’t like him.

Judge Ferrall remarked that Polk was “probably the least empowered” person in the room that day in 2016. That may be true in a narrow material sense. But the burden of moral clarity — of making the right decision in a moment of mortal threat — was placed entirely on Kevin Epps, not on the man who chose to trespass his way into someone else’s home while high on meth.

The judge asked why Epps had an illegal gun. He did not ask why Polk was there at all.

That asymmetry is the story. And the only way to know it is to have been in that courtroom, to have heard the timbre of the rulings, and to have watched the prosecutor theatrically mourn a man he spent the trial flattening into a symbol. 

The reporters who filed their dispatches by calling the attorneys after the fact or from prior coverage missed it entirely — though credit goes to SF Bay View, California Black Media and Mission Local reporters for attending and covering almost every proceeding.

They missed the judge twice referring to Epps as “Mr. Polk” in the last moments of the trial, and after condemning Epps to six years and eight months, lecturing how he knows Epps “will do good for the community when you come out.” 

The system failed Kevin Epps. The media, the institution designed to hold our systems accountable, failed one of its own. Not by covering the verdict incorrectly, but by treating presence as optional when presence is everything.

San Francisco writer Aïda Jones can be reached at info@thejonesinstitute.com. 

The post Letter from the courtroom on the sentencing of Kevin Epps: The verdict the press missed appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by JR Valrey, The People’s Minister of Information 

Ninety miles from the shores of Florida, the US government imposed a policy of economic strangulation via a Blockade on the economy of the Caribbean nation of Cuba nearly seven decades ago, all because the Cubans want to practice sovereignty – to maintain the right of Cubans to determine what happens in Cuba. 

In January of ’26, the US government imposed a complete oil Blockade on Cuba, after abducting Venezuelan President Nicoloas Maduro, a close ally of Cuba, completely depriving the island’s 11 million people of oil and greatly hindering social life, where food distribution, transportation, the pumping of water and general electricity among other aspects of life, depend on oil. 

With the resilience of the Cuban people being displayed at this critical time, doing what they can to fight off the US goverment imposed “slow genocide,” Russia has also recently broken through the US military’s oil blockade of the island to deliver a much needed shipment of oil, and thousands of people recently descended on the island from around the world with the Nuestra America Convoy, to show person to person solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. An enormous amount of solidarity is also coming from the Black Liberation struggle in the US and the Pan African struggle in the greater world. 

As the call for the end of the Cuban Blockade grows louder and louder within the United States and throughout the world, I wanted to talk with Second Secretary of the Cuban Embassy in the US Gabriella Castillo about what is happening on the island and within international geo-politics during this crucial time.

JR Valrey: How has the US government’s inhumane and criminal oil Blockade, since the beginning of the year, affected the Cuban people and different sectors of society on the island? 

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: First of all, thank you very much for providing this space. To discuss the current situation in Cuba, it is vital to understand that we are not looking at an isolated phenomenon. While the Executive Order of Jan. 29, 2026, has escalated the crisis to unprecedented levels, this is a history of energy siege that intensified in 2019 and is entirely tied to the policy of the US Blockade that Cuba has faced for nearly 70 years. What we see today is also the cumulative impact of years of persecution against every ship and every fuel transaction attempting to reach the island.

Today, the absence of oil is not just a statistical problem; it impacts the life of a nation. With an unstable power grid and blackouts that can sometimes exceed 20 hours a day, every aspect of daily life — from water pumping to education — is impacted. But where this Blockade becomes especially cruel is in the healthcare sector, a field that the Cuban Revolution has defended and maintained for years as a fundamental human right.

The healthcare system faces challenges that defy humanitarian logic. Currently, we have a surgical waiting list of over 96,000 patients. The most painful part of these figures is the human face behind them:

• Over 11,000 children and nearly 5,000 cancer patients are waiting for surgeries that are being postponed due to a lack of supplies or stable energy.
• Vital services such as hemodialysis (on which nearly 3,000 people depend) and radiotherapy (for 16,000 patients) are at constant risk due to electrical instability.
• The Maternal and Child Health Program is suffering directly: 32,000 pregnant women are struggling to access diagnostic ultrasounds, and more than 30,000 children face delays in their vaccinations because the cold chain for the doses cannot be guaranteed.

However, it is fundamental to highlight that if our healthcare system has not collapsed, it is thanks to the titanic effort of our doctors and scientists, and a national contingency strategy. Cuba has not stood idly by:

• We are accelerating a sovereign energy transition. We have already installed solar panels in 282 polyclinics, 15 hospitals, and dozens of maternal and nursing homes. Power supply for hospital centers is strategically prioritized over any other economic sector.

To summarize, what we are facing is a siege designed to suffocate the survival logistics of a people. Despite limited resources, the state’s priority remains saving lives, but the human cost of this policy of energy persecution is, quite simply, incalculable.

JR Valrey: With the Russian oil tanker reaching a port in Matanzas days ago, is the end of the US imposed oil blockade in sight?

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: This is an excellent question, but difficult to answer with a simple yes or no. To analyze the impact of the Russian tanker’s arrival in Matanzas, we must view it through three fundamental dimensions:

First, what Russia did is extremely significant, especially given the critical context Cuba faces today regarding fuel and electricity generation. We cannot underestimate what this means for the functioning of our hospitals, water pumping systems, and the daily lives of Cuban families who have been suffering through prolonged blackouts. It is a gesture of solidarity that arrives at a moment of extreme necessity.

Furthermore, this event brings a debate of principles to the table. Under international law, no country has the right to threaten another to prevent it from trading with or sending solidarity aid to a third nation. Trade and cooperation are the sovereign prerogatives of every state. The fact that this tanker has reached our shores is, in essence, an act of affirming that sovereignty in the face of external pressures that seek to dictate who we can or cannot associate with.

However, it would be premature to say that we are seeing the end of the oil Blockade. I cannot predict what will happen after this, but the facts are clear: The Executive Order of Jan. 29 remains in effect. The unilateral legal framework that sustains the energy persecution against Cuba has not changed; the unilateral threat of sanctions and tariffs against any shipping company or country attempting to establish a regular flow of fuel remains present. Although this specific shipment is a victory for solidarity, the U.S. policy of economic strangulation remains intact.

As long as that Executive Order and the laws of the Blockade remain in force, we cannot speak of an end to this criminal policy. What we are seeing is a constant struggle between international solidarity and a siege that attempts, day after day, to turn off the lights of an entire country.

JR Valrey: How does Cuba respond to the US government and corporate media saying food shortages and blackouts are evidence that socialism has failed on the island, without addressing the enormous economic and political impact of the criminal and unjust 67-year general Blockade that the US government imposed on the island?

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: That is a vital question because, in reality, it contains its own answer. To honestly analyze what is happening in Cuba today, it is impossible to separate our economic challenges from the context of the external siege the island has faced for nearly 70 years.

How can one judge the viability of a social or economic model when it is subjected to such brutal and prolonged external pressure? The intent of this policy is neither a secret nor a matter of interpretation; it was explicitly stated as far back as the 1960s in the Lester Mallory Memorandum, which established with total clarity that the objective of the Blockade was to provoke discontent and disenchantment through “hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of the government.”

To speak of shortages or blackouts without mentioning that every fuel ship, every financial transaction, and every attempt to acquire basic supplies is being hounded, is to omit the primary variable of the equation. The question we should be asking ourselves is not whether socialism has failed, but rather: What country in the world, regardless of its political system, would survive a siege of this magnitude for seven decades?

What we see in Cuba today is not evidence of internal failure, but evidence of extraordinary resilience. We Cubans have done much more than just survive: We have maintained a priority on healthcare, education, science, and innovation — reaching the standards of “developed” nations — even while the logistics of basic survival are attacked day after day.

 Furthermore, we have been an example of a different model of international cooperation and solidarity, sharing what we have rather than what we have to spare with other nations. To judge the results without acknowledging the siege is, quite simply, to ignore the reality of what it means to defend sovereignty under conditions of total economic warfare.  

JR Valrey: How does Cuba respond to Trump saying in the media that he is considering “taking” the island? 

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: Look, Cuba is a sovereign and independent nation, with a seat at the United Nations and very active participation in the international arena. We maintain diplomatic relations with the vast majority of the world’s countries and we defend the United Nations Charter and the rules established by International law — among them, and most importantly, peaceful coexistence between nations.

The reality is that Cuba’s destiny is decided, and will continue to be decided, by the Cuban people. Our history, especially over the last 70 years, is proof of an unbreakable will to defend our independence.

While some sectors stir up discourses of domination or intervention, Cuba continues to champion a model of international cooperation and solidarity. We have always — even in the most tense contexts — expressed our willingness to engage in dialogue with different United States governments across various fields, sitting at the table as equals, as two sovereign nations, which I consider fundamental for any honest process of engagement. Our response to hostility has always been the building of bridges with other peoples and the defense of multilateralism. Our priority will always be the well-being of our people, the updating of our model, and creative resistance against the Blockade. Cuba’s sovereignty is not negotiable nor subject to external considerations; it is a historical and legal fact

JR Valrey: Would you equate the US government’s current policies on Cuba as a scripted genocide, that is being carried out in real time? Why or why not?

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: Well, according to the 1948 UN Convention, genocide includes the “deliberate inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”

The Blockade fits this definition for three reasons:

It has the intent: The 1960 Mallory Memorandum explicitly stated the objective of breaking Cuba through “hunger and desperation.” That is a roadmap for the destruction of a people.

The method of suffocation: Unlike tragedies such as Gaza, where we see immediate physical destruction, what is happening in Cuba is a “silent genocide.” Bombs are not falling, but medicines, food, and the fuel necessary for hospitals to function are being blocked.

Therefore, using the deprivation of the basic means of life as a political tool for 70 years is, by definition and by impact, a genocidal act.

JR Valrey: Recently thousands of people arrived in Cuba to show their solidarity with the island nation. What was their purpose?

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: You are referring to the Nuestra América Convoy, an immense gesture of solidarity that recently brought people from all over the world to Cuba, including a very significant representation from the people of the United States. This experience was fundamental for three main reasons:

First, showing that Cuba is not alone in this struggle

Second, these people did not arrive empty-handed. They brought much-needed solidarity aid: medicines, food, solar panels — resources that directly help mitigate the shortages we face due to the energy and economic siege.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, these individuals were able to see with their own eyes the reality of Cuba. They didn’t rely on media narratives; they witnessed firsthand the consequences of this blockade on the Cuban people and, above all, the day-to-day resilience on the island.

Many of those participants have used their platforms to give visibility to what they witnessed, breaking the wall of information silence regarding the human impact of these sanctions.

JR Valrey: Do you think that people only calling for an end to the oil Blockade, while the nation has been getting economically strangled for 67 years by the US in a general Blockade, is a benefit or detriment to the long term cause of Cuban sovereignty? 

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: Focusing solely on ending the oil Blockade — while it is an immediate urgency due to the Executive Order of Jan. 29 — can be a double-edged sword if the bigger picture is lost. The energy siege is only the tip of the iceberg of a policy of economic strangulation that has lasted 67 years.

Calling only for an end to the oil Blockade, without questioning the general Blockade, could give the false impression that once the electrical crisis is resolved, the rest of the sanctions are “tolerable” — and they are not. Respect for Cuba’s full sovereignty will only be complete when the entire framework of laws preventing us from developing normally is eliminated. Therefore, any call to action must be comprehensive: Ending energy persecution is an urgent step, but the ultimate goal must be the total and unconditional lifting of the Blockade.

As for how everyday people can help, anyone from their own community, anywhere in the world, can make a real difference.

I can tell you that I have seen many individuals and organizations break the wall of silence and misinformation regarding Cuba by sharing real information about the human impact of these policies—much like the members of the Nuestra América Convoy have done. This has contributed to providing a more nuanced narrative.

In the case of U.S. citizens, they possess a unique capacity: requesting that their representatives put an end to a policy that not only harms the Cuban people but also violates the rights of Americans themselves to travel and trade freely.

As we saw with the recent Convoy, sending medicines, medical supplies, and technology for the energy transition (such as solar panels) is a form of shared resistance. Every syringe or solar panel that reaches the island is an act of sovereignty in the face of the siege.

JR Valrey: Where can people go to get up to date news in English about Cuba?

Second Secretary Gabriella Castillo: Well, as always, I recommend following the social media accounts of the Cuban Embassy in the United States; we are on X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as ‘Embassy of Cuba.’ I also suggest following the work of Belly of the Beast, as well as other outlets like BreakThrough News, DropSite or The Final Call, which provide objective coverage of what is happening. Additionally, I recommend looking at the work of influencers like Vic Mensa and Hassan Piker, who were recently in Cuba as part of the Nuestra América Convoy and created content regarding their visit.

Furthermore, you can hear about the reality of Cuba on programs like Make It Plain with Rev. Mark Thompson on WURD Philadelphia and, of course, on Block Report Radio and WPFW in Washington, D.C.

JR Valrey is a veteran journalist who can be heard weekly on Wednesdays on 89.5FM KPOO or KPOO.com from noon to 3 p.m. His work can also be heard on www.blockreportradioworld.com. 

The post Unpardonable offenses: US government policy vs. Cuba appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Eric Arnold

Kevin Epps shot and killed Marcus Polk inside his home in 2016, saying he did so to defend himself. California’s Castle Doctrine, which allows homeowners and residents to use reasonable — including deadly — force against intruders, was supposed to protect people in that situation.

It didn’t protect Epps.

In November 2025, a jury acquitted the San Francisco-based award-winning journalist and filmmaker of first-degree murder, but convicted him of voluntary manslaughter. His fate will be decided in a sentencing on April 8, with prosecutors opposing probation and seeking more than 11 years in prison. Some observers view the case not as an isolated incident of selective prosecution, but a verdict on how the criminal justice system is slanted against Black male defendants.

“We see recurrent cases wherein Black homeowners and residents are prosecuted when they defend their homes,” said Harvard professor Caroline Light, who researches the racial history of self-defense law. 

Self-defense laws like the Castle Doctrine, she argued, have never operated as irrespective of race as they’re written: “When we see the cases actually adjudicated, what we see is the stretching of the boundaries of Castle to accommodate the violence of certain types of people. Think George Zimmerman. Think Kyle Rittenhouse.”

Light called the decision of Epps’ judge Brian Ferrall to modify jury instructions regarding the Castle Doctrine consistent with a pattern of selective application that she has documented across American courts — what she describes as judges “putting their thumbs on the scales one way or the other.”

The people who most need self-defense protections, she said, are the ones least likely to receive them: domestic abuse victims, Black homeowners and Black residents in no-knock warrant situations: “These are the people who are going to be prosecuted most frequently.”

Some of Epps’ supporters have accused the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office of selective prosecution, saying the case reflects a more aggressive prosecutorial approach by DA Brooke Jenkins since the 2022 recall of her reform-minded predecessor Chesa Boudin. 

Attorney Walter Riley says this shift is real. The DA’s new approach, he says, has resulted in cases being pursued even when the evidence may not support the charges. Epps’ case,  initially dropped due to insufficient evidence, was reopened based on a digital animation commissioned by the prosecution that was later withdrawn.

“That’s the nature of bias, racism, overcharging and improper charging in this country,” said Riley, the father of rapper-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley.

The attorney became active in the civil rights movement in North Carolina during the 1950s, when Jim Crow laws were still in effect. In his view, the core issues of unequal justice since then have remained constant: “What happens in the criminal justice system is definitely a civil rights issue.”

Riley rejects softer framings of the problem like the term “implicit bias.” 

“It is not implicit when Black folks are being criminalized at a greater rate than anyone else,” he said. “It’s not implicit when crimes are developed that particularly criminalize the conduct of Black people.”

At the intersection of civil rights and criminal justice, the two “are absolutely not separate,” Riley added. “Justice Sotomayor, to paraphrase her, has said that the nature of the criminal justice system is an issue that we have to deal with in terms of the way we deal with racial biases.”

These inequities extend beyond the courtroom. 

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju said his office operates on roughly $39 million less annually than the DA’s office, which also has access to SFPD resources, police experts and a crime lab.

“A lot of the DA’s experts, for example, in gang cases, they’re police officers or they have access to the crime lab,” he explained. “If we want an expert, we have to hire it out of our expert budget fund, which is limited. But more importantly, they have more investigators, they have more clerical staff, they have more attorneys and they have a police department that’s 15 times our budget.”

 “There’s not anywhere close to parity,” he added. “The scales of justice are definitely not balanced in our system.”

Those resource gaps translate into pressure on defendants. Raju says clients who lose confidence in the system — whether from over-crowded dockets, racial bias in jury pools, or the sheer cost of fighting charges — often take plea deals for crimes they didn’t commit. “When clients don’t have confidence, they will plead to things they didn’t do.”

Prosecutorial misconduct worsens the problem, he says, and “is actually way more common than the public generally knows”  — including prosecutors delaying or withholding exculpatory or guilt-clearing evidence; this contributes to wrongful convictions and clients taking plea deals. 

In these cases, said Raju, the public defender’s office will attempt to take the appropriate action, asking for a mistrial or a jury stipulation in some cases, but ”unfortunately, there aren’t enough times where judges actually hold prosecutors accountable for their conduct.” 

Overcharging defendants of color is a “common phenomenon,” he continued, and prosecutors don’t always play fair: “There are times when prosecutors are feeling an urge to win at any cost, as opposed to seeking justice. And when that happens, wrong outcomes occur,” including improper convictions and jail time. 

Racial disparities play a role in this “in every way. First of all, we don’t have the diversity you’d want in the legal profession yet,” he explained, and “it’s usually the case that our clients do not have a jury of their peers. And when we do go to trial, we often have to overcome a presumption of guilt … When clients don’t have confidence, they will plead to things they didn’t do.”

Epps’ attorneys have laid the groundwork for a potential appeal, but Raju warned that even successful appeals carry their own costs. 

“Often, that result comes after a period of separation … Those costs of separation are no less severe just because someone happens to be accused of a crime,” he said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Eric Arnold writes for American Community Media, where this story first appeared.

The post Acquitted of murder, convicted anyway: Epps trial reveals racial gap in self-defense law appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Asė Mora

All My Usos (AMU), meaning “All My Brothers” in Samoan, is a homage to the organization’s grassroots initiative that’s provided services and resources to thousands of families over the last decade. It is one of 12 organizations participating in Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign, a component of Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Mentoring for Health and Wellness Initiative. In March, I had the opportunity to learn more about their organization. 

Founded by the late Jaytee Mauia in 2015, during his battle with stomach cancer, the principles of All My Usos still align with Jaytee’s initial vision for building community amongst Pacific Islander families in San Francisco. And providing them with support and services that the community often lacks. 

Since his passing in 2018, his wife, Executive Director of AMU, Christine Mauia continues to keep Jaytee’s legacy alive. Now with a team of all women, AMU continues the movement started by Jaytee centered around love, service, and the power of community. 

“AMU wasn’t birthed or formed in a boardroom or for a political vote. It was formed in my husband’s hospital bed while he was going through chemo. And because he’s from the community, as we all are, I think it’s more than just some people that just got hired on to come and do this work. This is rooted in us,” said Mauia.

“Rooted in Us”

Jaytee along with other staff grew up on the Southeastern side of the city, the impact of his work, AMU, has been rooted in the city since before the organization began. 

According to Mauia, the organization’s boots on the ground approach, like; meeting with families in hospitals after a tragedy, bringing families food and other goods to show support holds significant weight in the Samoan community. 

Mauia emphasized how these acts of cultural understanding and connection allow them to serve the Pacific Islander community more efficiently than external city officials or departments.

Shirley Alapati, Community Health Worker at AMU, stated that AMU’s roots as a Samoan organization, makes connecting with the Pacific Islander families easier. Alapati recalled specific outreach efforts such as advertising their programs in Samoan to increase their elderly Pacific Islander population.

Other services AMU provides aim directly to supporting the needs of the Pacific Islander community and breaking down cultural taboos around mental health and grief. Alapati emphasized AMU’s monthly group therapy sessions that specifically cater towards helping people process grief, loss and trauma. 

Breaking Taboo 

Tina Sataraka, Associate Mental Health Therapist at AMU, emphasized how the expectation to be strong can lead to a suppression of emotions and aversion to bringing up certain topics such as grief, depression and abuse. Due to shame or ostracization these topics are never addressed and become taboo. 

According to Sataraka, her work with AMU has also allowed her to heal from trauma and abuse within her own life, she described AMU as a pipeline to breaking generational trauma and taboo.

“So it’s how can we provide access to quality of life, especially resources that are not just only culturally rooted, but beneficial for our people to thrive. For too long, folks are in survival mode.

And we’re trying to cultivate a generation of folks who can live in an environment where they’re thriving,” said Sataraka.

Jillian Payuran, Senior Marketing Director at World System Builder, and professional financial educator was hosted by AMU this past February to give a free financial literacy workshop class. 

Payuran started her own journey with financial literacy after she found herself in debt post-graduation. She stated that although she majored in economics and finances she felt like her education didn’t focus on personal financial independence, rather teaching young college students how to make someone else money. 

Her own journey to financial independence meant addressing taboos centered around talking about finances in many Filipino families such as hers. Beyond financial literacy classes, according to Payuran, AMU is a “one-stop shop” for resources and services for all families in need. 

Specifically emphasizing AMU’s ability to meet specific needs of many immigrant families in San Francisco, Payuran said,

“I really appreciate that. Because if they didn’t do stuff like that, my family would have never been helped.” 

Asé Mora is a writing and media intern with the San Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper and a freelance journalist based in the Bay Area. She is a special reporter on the San Francisco Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign. Asé is a senior at San Francisco State University studying journalism with a minor in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, and Deaf Studies. She is also a staff reporter for Xpress Magazine, SF State’s student-run publication. 

The post Meet the women of All My Usos – Breaking taboo appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Landon Willis

APA is an important organization in the Bay Area that serves the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community, but its services are open to all. On August 24 2025, APA held their Anniversary Block Party in China Town. The anniversary day commemorates cultural identity and the community bonds that the organization has been creating for years. The event featured game booths for the families, cultural performances, live entertainment, and an auction for fundraising. The organization also invited the Mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, to attend the event. The mayor expresses profound appreciation for APA and other organizations like it. Lurie recognizes the importance of such organizations and continues to say, “There is no better investment as a city or as a community to make than in our children, and we have to keep investing in zero to five and make sure our kids get off to a strong start.” 

This event is one of the many ways APA builds and strengthens a community of over two thousand people. However, the organization has not always been as broad. Recently, APA was awarded a grant from San Francisco Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign to help expand on their services.  

What Is APA? 

APA Family Support services was originally founded in 1987 by Dr. Don Wong, who was a pediatrician at San Francisco Hospital. Dr. Wong was inspired to start the organization after seeing the struggle AAPI families faced and their lack of resources due to language and cultural barriers. 

APA’s mission is to promote Safety, Wellness and Economic security for at-risk youth and families. They also focus on providing culturally appropriate services for all their clients and they do this by considering each client’s background in all of the services they provide. A prime example of this is the Parental Stress Line which is designed to provide support for those with language barriers and the hotline has over seven languages available. 

AAPI Struggles 

According to the National Institute of Medicine, “Approximately 8.6% of Asian Americans sought mental health services compared with about 18% of the general population.” This information was from an article written in 2017, but more recent data still shows mental health is still an issue among AAPI groups. A 2024 article from TAAF (The Asian American Foundation) conducted a study on those from AAPI backgrounds and found that 48% scored above the threshold for moderate depression, 93% receiving some form of racial discrimination and 55% not wanting to burden their parents by seeking help.

Mental health is not the only issue that these families face. According to EBRI, (Employee Benefit Research Institute) Pacific Islander national income and asset ownership is shown to be lower than national figures. In addition to the other issues listed the National Domestic violence hotline has recorded, “Up to 55% of Asian Women in the U.S. have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.” These statistics show what the different issues AAPI groups face in the United States.  Yet, how does APA as an organization provide the resources to combat these struggles?  

Bringing Families Together 

One way APA provides these sources is by bringing families together. Earlier in March , Asé  and I, special reporters on the San Francisco Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign,  had the pleasure of interviewing the Senior Community Outreach and Training Manager of APA, Barbara Chung. She gave a detailed breakdown on all the resources their organization provides.

APA has 6 areas they provide service for: 

• Behavioral Health: This program is for kids who struggle with mental health and behavioral issues who are Medical eligible, but lack access to mental health assistance. It utilizes formal counseling for the families to help kids have better behavior in and outside of school. 
• Home Visitation:  Home Visitation is another mental health resource for families but instead focuses on the parents and engagement in activities that help them with understanding their child’s development. 
• Enhanced Visitation: Visitation for parents removed from child’s care and are involved in child Welfare. This type of visitation creates safe environments for parents to visit their kids and for Visitation Supervisors to make sure children are being treated properly. The Parental Stress Line is also a part of this program.  
• Youth Development: Helps build assets for youth by preparing them for future job searching and strengthens professional skills. 
• Economic Success: Aims to provide families with all the tools necessary for economic success in all aspects of finances. 
• Family Resource Center: Last but not least the China Town, Excelsior and Visitacion Valley resource centers help create community for families. These sites offer many group workshops to bring parents and families together. 

APA Family Support Services continues to bring families together through shared resources and community love.

Landon Willis is a writing and media intern with the San Francisco Bayview Newspaper. He is a second-year marketing student at San Francisco State University. He is a special reporter on the San Francisco Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign.  In addition to school, Landon enjoys exercise, music, and hanging out with friends. He is very passionate about film and acting and is currently working on creating his own feature film.

The post Fun, fellowship and family – APA is bringing people together appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Tabari Morris

A historian of Black Freedom steps into California’s 2026 governor’s race 

California’s long crisis of homelessness, mass incarceration, corporate capture and economic inequality has a new challenger in the 2026 governor’s race: historian, activist and educator Dr. Butch Ware, now running on the Green Party ticket with an unapologetically Black radical, liberation-centered platform. After a wide-ranging interview touching on housing, prisons, surveillance, education and political power, the San Francisco Bay View is proud to officially endorse Dr. Ware’s candidacy for governor of California. “This Green Party run is an opportunity to bring our radical politics outside of that duopoly system and really put that to the center of state politics and national politics,” Ware said.​ 

In my interview with him, Ware framed his campaign as a direct challenge to what he calls the “two-party duopoly” that has overseen California’s highest-in-the-nation poverty, deeply racialized policing and an historic homelessness crisis despite the state’s position as the world’s third-largest economy. He is running as a self-described “Black Muslim revolutionary,” promising to wield the ballot as “a weapon” in the tradition of Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party and the broader Black radical tradition.​ 

From Black radical history to the governor’s race 

Ware comes to the race as an associate professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, teaching African history, African American history and Islamic intellectual history, with a body of work focused on Black radical traditions, colonialism, genocide, revolution and social transformation. He credits his decision to jump into electoral politics to his 2024 vice-presidential run alongside Dr. Jill Stein, which forced him to revisit how earlier generations of revolutionaries treated the vote.​ 

“I went back to Malcolm, 1964, ‘The Ballot or the Bullet,’” Ware recalled. Malcolm’s insistence that “the ballot is a weapon as effective or more effective than the bullet,” and the Panthers’ choice to run for office convinced Ware that electoral work could be a tool of organizing, not a substitute for it. “I’m running to try to build an independent liberation-centered politics that comes out of the Black radical tradition, but channels that Black radical tradition towards the aims of collective liberation in the same ways that the Panthers did,” he said.​ 

Breaking the Democratic-Republican ‘duopoly’ 

Throughout the conversation, Ware returned to a central premise: Democrats and Republicans are two wings of the same corporate machine. Citing Malcolm X’s metaphor of the liberal “fox” and conservative “wolf,” he argues that the differences between the parties are “a difference of style, not substance,” particularly on policing, prisons and economic inequality. “The Democrat establishment in the state turns California citizens and residents upside down and shakes us until all of the money comes out of our pockets,” he said, describing the state’s additions of tolls, fees and regressive revenue schemes.​ 

Ware says the current system is a bipartisan failure, a state that is simultaneously a global economic powerhouse and a national leader in poverty, wealth inequality and carceral expansion. For Ware, the Green Party’s refusal to take corporate funding was not a branding decision, but a requirement for democracy: “Who funds you runs you,” he said, contrasting his campaign with Democrats and Republicans funded by defense contractors, private prison interests and Wall Street asset managers. 

“Our job is to restore power to the people,” he said, advocating for proportional representation, ranked-choice voting and mixed-member districts as a way to break the corporate stranglehold on state power. 

‘Poverty industrial complex’ and a housing-first vision 

If there was one issue that drew special urgency from Ware, it was homelessness – and the multi-billion-dollar ecosystem that has failed to end it. He referred to the web of agencies, consultants and developers as the “poverty industrial complex,” saying that too much of the state’s homelessness funding functions as “poverty alleviation for them, but not for the people.” Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, Ware pointed out, California has spent roughly $25 billion on homelessness programs, while the average number of people sleeping on the street each night has risen from about 120,000 to 187,000.​ 

Ware’s criticism is personal as well as it is political. He tells of a childhood spent riding a bike through shelters, relatives’ homes, public housing and other unstable living situations. He also tells of his father who was struggling with mental health and addiction issues who lived on the streets at times. “I don’t see homeless people as a public nuisance. I see homeless people as human beings who need care,” he emphasized. His plan focuses on a housing-first approach combined with universal single-payer healthcare including mental health and addiction services, as well as social housing funded through aggressive taxation of vacant properties, especially those of companies such as Blackstone and BlackRock. 

Care, not cages: healthcare, addiction and drug policy 

Ware links California’s housing crisis and homelessness problem directly to healthcare and criminalization. He supports universal single-payer healthcare, currently blocked by Democrats who advocate for it but take millions from the health care lobby. Ware argues that universal healthcare is the only way to treat addiction and mental health issues as a healthcare problem, not a crime. When Ware ran for national office on the Green Party ticket with Jill Stein, he supported the Green Party’s platform of legalizing and regulating controlled substances, decriminalizing users and treating substance abuse as a health crisis, not a pipeline to prison. 

“At the intersection of the two problems that you just stated is the fact that many of those folks who have some kind of record inside the carceral system are people who were serving time for drug offenses,” he said in our interview, arguing that both public and private prison interests profit from criminalization. “If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail,” he said. “And if all you have is corporate donors, then you’re always going to craft solutions that serve your corporate donor class rather than just fixing the damn problem.”​ 

Abolition, political prisoners, and ending prison slavery

Ware describes himself as an abolitionist who “envision[s] a day when we close down Pelican Bay,” and he says his team is already vetting lists of political prisoners for gubernatorial clemency. He situates California’s carceral system within a long genealogy of racial violence and intellectual resistance, pointing to figures like George and Jonathan Jackson and Huey P. Newton and the intellectual work produced behind bars that has shaped Black liberation movements worldwide.​

On the continued use of prison labor under the 13th Amendment’s “punishment for crime” clause, Ware is equally blunt: “Slavery still exists inside the state of California,” he said, drawing a straight line from chattel slavery to post-emancipation vagrancy laws in South Africa to today’s forced labor regimes. He criticized the state’s recent ratification of carceral slavery at the ballot box as a failure of moral and political leadership, promising to side with incarcerated workers who refuse to participate in coerced labor. “One of those human rights is to be exempt from slavery at the hands of the state,” he insists.​

Standing with inside-outside organizing and street organizations

In one of our interview’s most powerful exchanges, a question from formerly incarcerated organizers asked how they could form a political action committee to back Ware’s platform as “new stakeholders.” Ware responded with clear enthusiasm: “First of all, I love this,” he said, revealing that his campaign is already working with formerly incarcerated street-organization leaders in San Diego on community-based violence prevention and political organizing.​

He cited as a point of pride the 2024 endorsement of the Stein-Ware ticket by the Almighty Vice Lord Nation, arguing that street organizations are uniquely positioned to build the political formations necessary to “wrest power out of the hands of the corporations.” “The only murderous gangs that I know that wear blue and red are Democrats and Republicans,” he quipped in an interview on the Breakfast Club, clarifying that his campaign sees street organizations, incarcerated people and their families as central partners, not scapegoats.​

Ending hostilities, building safe and liberated zones

Asked whether he would meet with “principal thinkers” behind the historic Pelican Bay Agreement to End Hostilities and support using that framework as both inside-outside peace work and a curriculum for schools, Ware did not hesitate. “Without any question. So mark that down, put it on the record,” he said, noting that such work has already begun through his campaign’s collaboration with street leadership. His view of violence prevention is rooted in structural analysis: He recalls growing up in Washington, D.C., when it was the murder capital of the United States and argues that current conditions reflect “the indelible marks of white supremacist, capitalist and imperialist violence on our communities.”​

For Ware, the real public safety work is twofold: meeting people’s basic needs – “housing, healthcare and education because those are the things that lead to opportunity” – and supporting robust, community-rooted violence prevention programs both inside the prison system and in neighborhoods under constant surveillance and policing. He sees little meaningful boundary between “inside” and “outside” for Black, Latino and poor communities living under militarized policing, recalling being stopped “for driving while Black 17 times before I got to my 18th birthday.”​

Fighting surveillance and the expanding police state

Ware and I also tackled the explosion of surveillance technology in cities like San Francisco, where flock cameras, license-plate readers and private systems like Ring create what Ware calls a 21st-century police state. Quoting Dead Prez’s song “Police State,” he noted how streetlights now function as watchtowers as corporations and law enforcement track movement and activity with “no respect for people’s rights to privacy.”​

Ware argues that this surveillance boom is inseparable from the influence of Silicon Valley over state politics. “When the executive authority and the Democrat Party is in the employ of Silicon Valley tech bros …  of course they’re going to look the other way as our privacy and civil liberties are violated,” he said. As governor, he says he would press the attorney general to aggressively litigate in defense of civil liberties, leveraging the office’s power against tech overreach instead of shielding corporate donors.​

Schools, students and ending the school-to-prison pipeline

In my interview with Dr. Ware, the conversation frequently returned to young people and education, including my observation – grounded in the actual Chicago experience – that closing dozens of schools and forcing students to cross neighborhood lines escalated violence and instability. Ware connected those experiences to his own, recounting his transformation at 15 after reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and the Qur’an in two nights, and to the long history of Black students being told that their ambitions are unrealistic, from Malcolm being told to become a carpenter rather than the lawyer young Malcolm wanted be to Ware himself being told in third grade that there had never been a Black president and likely never would be.​

Dr. Ware argues that schools in Black and Brown communities often function as extensions of the carceral state – complete with metal detectors, prison-like architecture and a culture of surveillance – that make students feel unsafe and unwelcome. To change that, Ware calls for equalizing per-pupil funding across districts so that students in places like Compton and Stockton are funded at the same level as those in Beverly Hills, as well as universal pre-K and a return to free tuition at public colleges and universities, paired with relief from crushing student loan debt. “The student is the bag,” he said, describing how student debt has turned higher education from a path to social mobility into a revenue stream for corporations.​

Taxing billionaires, cutting tolls and ending ‘extortionary’ fees

On economic policy, Ware is sharply critical of what he calls California’s “never ending constant shakedown” of working people through tolls, fees and layered taxes while billionaires and major corporations pay little. He points to proposals such as per-mile “road-use” charges and escalating tolls as examples of a state that “turns California citizens and residents upside down and shakes us until all of the money comes out of our pockets.” Meanwhile, he notes, nine households in Silicon Valley control about $683 billion in personal wealth, 186 billionaires reside in the state, and companies like Tesla and Palantir pay effective tax rates that are negligible or reportedly zero.​

Ware’s alternative is straightforward: Cut “extortionary” tolls and fees by rooting out entrenched corruption and pork in Sacramento and raise modest taxes on the ultra-rich and large corporations. He argues that a 2% increase in income tax on the state’s 186 billionaires alone could fund the elimination of state income taxes for Californians making $100,000 or less while cancelling many regressive charges on everyday life. “The only freeloaders who are getting over on our dime are the billionaires, not the immigrants,” he said.​

100-day agenda: emergency single-payer and structural change

When pressed to elaborate on what he would do in his first 100 days as governor, Ware said they are working on releasing a comprehensive plan but pointed to one major action he said he would take right away: declaring a public health emergency and immediately establishing a single-payer health care plan for Californians. “People need relief now,” he emphasized, noting that Democrats have shown they could pass a single-payer plan by doing it twice, in 2006 and 2008, knowing Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger would veto it.

Ware accuses Democrats of betraying voters by campaigning on single-payer – Newsom did so in 2022 – then abandoning it after accepting $2.7 million from the healthcare lobby and refusing to even bring a single-payer bill to a vote. Ware quotes James Baldwin: “I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do,” promising that a Ware administration would act immediately on what he calls an “80/20 issue” that enjoys overwhelming popular support.​

Building a statewide movement: from 2% to the governor’s mansion

Despite being a non-corporate candidate running as an independent in a so-called “jungle primary,” Ware insists that this campaign is meant to win rather than merely being symbolic. He argues that his recent poll figures have placed him between 2% and 5%, a feat that is impressive for a third-party candidate in California. He further notes that with so many candidates in the race, the current leaders are polling at around 13 to 14 percent, meaning that he is merely “single digit off the lead.” No third-party candidate has polled at 5 percent in California since a third-party candidate actually won in 1917, Ware observed.

The campaign’s growth, he says, is fueled by real-world organizing rather than “Instagram AstroTurf.” Ware describes “boots on the ground in every community,” from San Diego to Humboldt, including a 500-person rally in San Leandro headlined by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters where the campaign raised roughly $40,000 in a single day – more than some left formations have raised in entire cycles. He reports having “a few thousand” volunteers already engaged in field work and expects that number to rise sharply as vote-by-mail ballots go out on May 4, 2026.​

A Muslim, pro-Palestine multi-racial coalition

Ware’s candidacy is also changing political assumptions about who makes up the backbone of state insurgent campaigns. A practicing Muslim who was fasting during Ramadan while giving an interview with me, Ware pointed to 2024 exit polls in California that found 53% of Muslim voters supported Stein and Ware, while only 20% of those voters chose Democrats, whom he called “team blue genocide,” and Republicans, whom he called “team red fascism.”

As there are a million Muslims in California, Ware sees a scenario where Muslim, youth, Black, Latino, Asian-American and working-class voters can easily provide the 1.75 to 2 million votes needed to win the June primary election.

He points to especially high levels of enthusiasm among young voters, who are “deeply anti-Zionist, very pro-Palestinian, very pro-ICE abolition,” and also have Green Party chapters at about 20 colleges across the state. “We’re trying to win,” he says straightforwardly, emphasizing that his platform of housing, healthcare, human rights and stopping carceral and imperial violence is popular beyond traditional “left” communities.

‘A new day is dawning’: Why SF Bay View endorses Dr. Butch Ware

In closing, Ware turned again to Malcolm X, reminding Black Californians that being taken for granted by Democrats makes them, in Malcolm’s words, “political chumps.” “Aren’t we tired of Black Californians being chumped by a party that plays in our face and locks us up, that plays in our face and keeps us impoverished?” he asked. For him, a Ware victory would signal that “the third largest economy on the planet has gone out of the fold of imperialism and capitalism and white supremacy and that a new day is dawning in the political history of humanity.”​

The SF Bay View agrees that California is past the point of tinkering at the margins and that the crises facing Black, Brown, working-class and poor communities demand a fundamentally different governing vision. With his lifelong commitment to Black liberation, his lived experience of housing precarity and family incarceration, his refusal of corporate money, and his concrete plans for housing, healthcare, education and decarceration, Dr. Butch Ware has earned our full and official endorsement for governor of California in 2026.​

How to get involved – and a thank you

Readers and viewers who want to learn more or plug into the campaign can visit ButchWare4Gov.com, where they can sign up to volunteer, donate or connect with field teams across the state. The campaign can also be reached directly at https://contact@butchware4gov.com and volunteer@butchware4gov.com for those organizing PACs, inside-outside efforts or local community initiatives.​

On behalf of the SF Bay View community, we extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Butch Ware for sharing his time, clarity and courage with our readers and viewers and for placing the needs of our people at the center of his bid for California’s highest office. We look forward to covering this campaign as it grows – and to seeing power return to the hands of those who have carried the heaviest burdens for far too long.​

Tabari Morris, a journalism student at City College of San Francisco and news editor of The Guardsman, City College’s student newspaper, is managing editor of the Bay View and can be reached at tabari@sfbayview.com.  

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by Eric Arnold

San Francisco – As San Francisco-based filmmaker Kevin Epps awaits sentencing for the 2016 fatal shooting of Marcus Polk, his supporters continue to raise allegations of selective prosecution, prosecutorial misconduct, and judicial error in his recent murder trial. 

The issues go beyond this singular case, they say, highlighting longstanding concerns about structural inequity and racial disparities in criminal cases involving African American men.

Epps, who claimed self-defense, was acquitted of first-degree murder charges, but found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 8. 

During his trial, dozens of community members – including prominent faith leaders like the Rev. Amos Brown and officials from the San Francisco and San Mateo NAACP – held rallies outside the courtroom steps, demanding justice for Epps.

One key issue is the lack of diversity among the judiciary. 

As of March 2026, Black or African American judges represented almost 10 percent of judges statewide. In Alameda County, the percentage of Black or African American judges is more than double the statewide average. In San Francisco County, Terri L. Jackson became the first African American woman Superior Court judge in 2002, and the court’s first Presiding Judge in 2016.

A handful of African American judges currently serve on San Francisco’s bench, including Monica F. Wiley, Murlene J. Randle, Christopher C. Hite, Patrick S. Thompson and Justine Cephus (appointed by Gov. Newsom in March 2026).

Still, despite recent gains, judicial diversity is often cited as a factor in wrongful convictions, overcharging, and sentencing disparities disproportionately impacting Black defendants.

“It’s not uncommon,” says retired Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, for judges to rule on cases involving minority defendants “based solely on stereotypes and not an appropriate reading of the facts on any particular case.”

Harbin-Forte, who is African American, spent more than 20 years on the bench in Alameda County Municipal and Superior Court. Her judicial expertise includes presiding over civil, juvenile, criminal and drug courts. She has long been a champion for diversifying the judiciary, chairing the State Bar of California Council on Access and Fairness’s Judicial Committee, which was instrumental in the 2006 passage of SB56. The bill increased transparency in judicial diversity data collection statewide.

“It was very important to me to make sure that there was diversity on the bench, that people could walk into the courthouse and see judges who looked like them,” she said. 

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who is also African American, has publicly criticized judges for lenient sentences, which she says don’t do enough to deter violent crime.

Jenkins’ comments came in response to a case that Judge Brian Ferrall – the same judge in the Epps case – ruled on, in which the DA’s office recommended a 23-year sentence for a first-time offender convicted of armed robbery. Ferrall handed down a sentence of 4 years 8 months. 

Public Defender Elizabeth Camacho, who had sought probation with no jail time, later accused Ferrall of inappropriate comments and racial bias. 

Jenkins herself has drawn criticism for dropping police misconduct cases involving minorities, and was ordered to undergo a diversion program for ethics violations by the State Bar. 

Jenkins’ predecessor, Chesa Boudin, attempted to reform the DA’s office, firing numerous prosecutors, including Michael Swart, who reopened the Epps case in 2019. But after Boudin was recalled in 2022, the DA’s office under Jenkins has seen a return to a “tough on crime” hardline, which Harbin-Forte says “too often” results in “overcharging” minorities. 

Harbin-Forte chairs the Legal Redress Committee of the Oakland NAACP. She’s been closely monitoring the Epps case “particularly since Rev. Brown and then the San Mateo [NAACP] branch have been in his corner.” 

In a lengthy interview, Harbin-Forte returned her own verdict: “(Epps) should not have a conviction on his record. Not under these circumstances. Absolutely not. I just can’t believe how much the prosecution was able to get away with in this case.”

In 2019, prosecutors claimed to have new evidence, which amounted to a digital animation commissioned by the San Francisco DA’s office. When challenged during a 2025 pretrial hearing, the DA withdrew this evidence and sought to introduce another digital animation, which was much more limited in its scope.

“Quite frankly, I’m outraged that the DA’s office decided to charge this case,” said Harbin-Forte, noting the prosecution “did this 3-D animation and everything, and that was the quote-unquote ‘new evidence’ that they had discovered that justified charging Epps?”

The animator, Jason Fries of 3-D Forensic Inc. once claimed “100% admissibility” – his current slogan is “seek and illustrate the truth.” 

Public documents show there have been several instances where his testimony and animations have been excluded due to unscientific methodology and/or lack of expertise in forensic pathology. In 2018, Fries made a controversial recreation of Laquan McDonald’s fatal shooting by a Chicago police officer, which contradicted visual evidence from the scene. 

During the Epps trial, the defense asked for a mistrial, arguing that the prosecutor, in closing argument, had asked the jury to draw inferences that the prosecutor knew to be false. The defense cited a 2002 9th Circuit Appeals Court ruling establishing that government prosecutors have a “sovereign obligation” to govern impartially: “The prosecutor’s job isn’t just to win, but to win fairly, staying well within the rules.”

The 2002 case – prosecuted by Jonathan Schmidt, then an Assistant US Attorney and the ADA [Assistant District Attorney] in the Epps trial – has become a textbook reference for prosecutorial misconduct. Judge Ferrall stated that he read the opinion yet ruled that it did not apply.

Harbin-Forte contends that decision was “absolutely judicial error.”

More alarm bells went off over jury instructions. While considering the Castle Doctrine — which allows for use of reasonable, even deadly force against an intruder in one’s home — the judge modified the legal definition of the term, citing ambiguity over whether Epps could be considered a resident if his name wasn’t on the lease, and whether Polk, a frequent visitor, could be considered an intruder. 

The defense pointed out that Epps received mail at the residence, and the address was listed on his driver’s license. Multiple witnesses previously indicated Polk was homeless, was regularly refused admittance or told to leave, and had barged into the residence despite being asked to leave on the day of the shooting. 

In Harbin-Forte’s view, “Modifying the jury instruction is questionable in itself,” adding that “did seem to change the burden of proof for the prosecution.” 

The Castle Doctrine, she said, makes no reference to being a property owner or leaseholder. The legal standard is simply being a resident. By modifying the instruction, the judge “changed the whole import of the Castle instruction.” 

Another questionable jury instruction was allowing jurors to consider manslaughter charges based on Epps being a felon in possession of a gun. 

The California Penal Code defines voluntary manslaughter as an “unlawful killing” committed “upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion.” The law does not say mere possession of a weapon by a felon meets this standard and is clear that the burden of proof is on the prosecution. 

All these red flags had a cumulative effect on the trial’s outcome, says Harbin-Forte. 

 “There is too much that happened to give anybody the sense that this was a proper prosecution and a proper conviction. They went out of their way and twitched too many concepts and did so much wrong in order to bring this man into the criminal justice system.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of African American judges in Alameda and San Francisco counties. The error has been corrected.

Eric Arnold writes for American Community Media, where this story first appeared.

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by The People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey

The Black Panther Museum is one of the most important institutions in the Bay Area’s Black community. It serves as a living monument to when the people captured a parcel of community power, and it is a testament of hope for Black and other oppressed people worldwide of what we can do when people are organized. 

Dr. Xavier Buck is the executive director of the Black Panther Museum in downtown Oakland, and I thought that it was fitting to talk with him about the history of the museum, as well as the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation which established it, during the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party. 

JR Valrey: What is the Huey P. Newton Foundation? How did it start and when? 

Dr. Xavier Buck: The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation was founded by David Hilliard and Fredrika Newton in 1995 to preserve and promote the legacy of the Black Panther Party and its co-founder, Dr. Huey P. Newton. The organization has preserved Dr. Newton’s archive, planned youth conferences from Oakland to Washington, D.C., curated exhibits across the U.S. and Europe, commissioned public art, and founded the Black Panther Party Museum, among many other things.

JR Valrey: How did you get involved with the Huey P. Newton Foundation? 

Dr. Xavier Buck: I began volunteering for the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation in 2019 when I was a graduate student at UC Berkeley. The organization had a robust archive and history, but needed a jumpstart because David Hilliard had stepped back and Fredrika Newton, having just retired from nursing, stepped in. She and I had lunch at her dining room table four days a week, developing our vision and strategy. Two years later, we installed Dr. Huey P. Way and the Dr. Huey P. Newton Memorial Bust in West Oakland. These projects were pivotal in opening fundraising opportunities so I could hire a team and by 2024, found the Black Panther Party Museum.

JR Valrey: How did the Black Panther Museum start? What is its purpose?

Dr. Xavier Buck: Dr. Huey P. Newton developed his theory of intercommunalism, which posits that global corporate imperialism has rendered the nation-state obsolete. This transforms the world into a collection of dispersed, oppressed communities that must unite in revolutionary solidarity to seize power from the ruling elite. Ultimately, he wanted to create an institute where intercommunalism could be seriously studied. However, we also understood that our local community had asked for a space where they could learn the Black Panther Party’s history and tactics from the Panthers’ perspectives. With every exhibition we get closer to our goal: creating an institution that helps people authentically understand the Black Panther Party while providing a theoretical background in intercommunalism relevant to on-the-ground movements. The Black Panther Party Museum is an evolving institution, changing with Panthers and the community to remain accurate and relevant.

JR Valrey: What kind of events are organized there?

Dr. Xavier Buck: In 2025 we hosted over 50 events and we don’t plan to slow down anytime soon. Our Black Panther Party Advisory Committee often hosts film screenings and discussions, while our community partners host the Men’s Wellness Fellowship, Revolutionary Rest, Breath in the City, and the Poetry Workshop. We also host our signature events in Black History Month, Black August, and Black Panther Month (October).

JR Valrey: What exhibit is currently on the walls of the Black Panther Museum? Why was the exhibit selected, and what is its importance?

Dr. Xavier Buck: Two exhibitions are currently on display. “Survival Pending Revolution” documents the Black Panther Party’s 65 community programs, showing our visitors what, why, and how they implemented them. The second exhibition is “Happy Birthday, Oscar,” an art installation commemorating what would have been Oscar Grant’s 40th birthday and grounding people in a long and unbroken history of state violence.

JR Valrey: Is the Black Panther Museum doing anything special to organize around the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party, in October?

Dr. Xavier Buck: The Dr. Huey P. The Newton Foundation is collaborating with Panther groups across the country to commemorate the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary in Oakland, California, from Oct. 15 to 17, 2026. We are building on the momentum of the 50th anniversary and expect an even larger crowd hungry to know how to apply the Party’s ideology and tactics today. For more information, please visit www.bpp60.org. 

JR Valrey: Can you tell people a little about the political education segments that you offer on social media? How do you pick the topics that you cover? Where can people find them?

Dr. Xavier Buck: For seven years, I’ve created social media content under the name @historyin3, where I disseminate Black history and offer political commentary. During my Ph.D. in the history program at UC Berkeley I felt like I was reading texts fundamental to us as a people but locked away in the ivory tower. I’ve spent the better half of my career getting that information out to the masses. However, just like a journalist, I pay close attention to current world events so that the history I’m sharing is relevant to the present and useful for our movements.

JR Valrey: How do people keep up with what’s happening at the Black Panther Museum?

Dr. Xavier Buck: To learn more about the Black Panther Party Museum, sign up for our email list at www.blackpantherpartymuseum.org and follow us on Instagram @blackpantherpartymuseum and @hueypnewtonfoundation.

JR Valrey is a veteran journalist who can be heard weekly on Wednesdays on 89.5FM KPOO or KPOO.comfrom noon to 3 p.m. His work can also be heard on www.blockreportradioworld.com. 

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Girls elementary school in Minab, Iran, bombed as US-Israel start war on Iran 022726 by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on X. 

The Black Alliance For Peace condemns, in the strongest terms, the recent U.S.-Israeli bombing of Tehran and other cities in Iran, which included the bombing of an all-girls school in Minab, which reportedly killed at least 50 students. This military attack is a flagrant violation of the most fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. 

As articulated by Iran’s Foreign Ministry and multiple international observers, it constitutes a clear act of aggression against a sovereign member state, undermining international peace and security. Such actions underscore the rogue statism of the U.S. and Israel as existential threats. 

Western powers, particularly the U.S., have embraced “international lawlessness” to support Israeli expansionism. In just the last two months, this lawlessness has enabled the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, and the bombing, invasion and ongoing intervention in Venezuela; the heightened strangulation and attacks on Cuba; and now bombing and possible further attacks against Iran.

This criminal escalation serves the interests of no one but the imperialist-zionist warmongers. It flies in the face of domestic and global public opinion, which largely rejects such violence. The international community has condemned the strikes as an unprovoked act of armed aggression. When faced with such international gangsterism, we must ask: Whose interests are being upheld? Certainly not those of the Iranian schoolchildren, workers or the millions worldwide who desire peace. It is the capitalist-imperialist ruling class that rules through ever-accelerating militarism and the most extremist elements in Tel Aviv and Washington that benefit from this carnage.

Such U.S. and Israeli murderous lawlessness forces us to take coordinated action to impose consequences on these states. The international community of nations must not allow the normalization of U.S. led global fascism. This is why BAP has called for organizations and people of conscience to demand that FIFA move the World Cup out of the U.S., demand that both FIFA and the IOC ban the U.S. and Israel from hosting or participating in International Sporting Events, and to join coordinated resistance to boycott the World Cup.  U.S. Zionist-imperialist impunity must end now!

More immediately, we call on all people of conscience to stand with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian people against this bombing and intervention, to mobilize where they are against the widening scope of U.S. wars, and to defend the right of peoples and nations to resist imperialist violence.

Resources and mobilization information here:

tinyurl.com/stopuswar

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by Kevin Epps

The energy at GLIDE felt more like a block party than a ribbon-cutting.

Outside, a live band played from a makeshift stage set up in front of GLIDE’s entrance as people danced, gathered and filled the sidewalk with excitement. Inside and outside the historic San Francisco institution, conversations buzzed as community members packed the space for the launch of GLIDE’s newest initiative — a community barbershop designed to connect men with critical health and support services.

Sitting front row as the program got underway was iconic actor and longtime social justice advocate Danny Glover, whose presence underscored the significance of the moment.

At first, I wasn’t immediately clear on the connection when I received word that GLIDE was opening a barbershop. But when you look at the history of the organization — its deep commitment to innovative community care and radical compassion — the idea begins to make perfect sense.

GLIDE continues community care

For decades, GLIDE has been known for meeting people where they are, offering unconditional love, essential services and spiritual grounding to those facing poverty, addiction, homelessness and hardship. This new barbershop reflects that same philosophy — a holistic approach centered on dignity, humanity and connection.

And, according to city health leaders, the need is urgent.

Daniel Tsai, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, emphasized the importance of the partnership between GLIDE and the city to bring vital services directly to people who need them.

The shop will serve as a gateway to health resources, mental health care, and substance use treatment — all within a familiar and trusted community setting.

Also present for the celebration was Bilal Mahmood, the District 5 representative on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who presented GLIDE with a certificate recognizing the launch of the barbershop and the organization’s continued impact in the community.

“GLIDE has always been a hug for the community,” Mahmood said. “The Tenderloin represents a real holistic way of life — making sure people are housed and have food. I think now having a barbershop here completes that circle to provide people a full life, even if they don’t have everything.”

But the barbershop is about much more than grooming.

It’s about conversation, connection and care.

Black men at risk

“The Director of Public Health mentioned that Black men are dying at higher rates from overdose than the general population,” said Rev. Dr. Gina Fromer, GLIDE’s CEO. “Even though things are getting better overall, that number has stayed the same.

“So this shop is a very innovative way to get people — anyone who needs a haircut — off the street, get cleaned up, and maybe start talking about their health. Maybe they want to get a job. Maybe they enter one of our programs to get off drugs.

“It’s a doorway,” Fromer said.

“What the Department of Public Health recognizes is what the barbershop has always meant in every community — it’s the community living room.”

For generations, barbershops have served as informal gathering places where men talk openly about life, politics, family, and struggles. GLIDE’s vision builds on that tradition by creating a space where conversations can also lead to counseling, support services and life-changing opportunities.

Tacing Parker, chief program officer at GLIDE, says the initiative also addresses long-standing disparities.

“It’s important because Black men’s lives matter in San Francisco,” Parker said. “As a community, city agencies and partners want to rally our services to ensure that they live. That’s why it’s important.”

Rev. Ishmael Burch takes the cut

Leading the shop is Rev. Ishmael Burch, who will manage the barbershop and whose deep roots in barbershop culture shape the spirit behind the effort.

Speaking in his warm Louisiana drawl, Burch described the barbershop as far more than a place for grooming.

“The barbershop started in the church,” he said. “I was raised in the barbershop since I was 4 years old, and I know the barbershop.

“If I had a problem as a young man, I could go there and find someone to talk to. And that’s the way this barbershop is.”

Burch explained that the vision goes beyond the barber’s chair.

“We’re teaching each one of the barbers to build relationships,” he said. “So we have counseling sessions after the haircut. Then they can set up time to come back in two or three days, and we keep working with them.”

The goal is to help people rebuild their lives.

“The idea is to lift people up,” Burch said. “Those who are unhoused, we help get them housing. It doesn’t do any good to give a man a haircut, make him look good, and then send him right back to the ground.

“So there’s a lot of work behind it, but we’re going to get there with all the resources and support.”

For Burch, the connection between service and faith is also central to what makes the shop unique.

“God is connected to it,” he said. “And that makes this barbershop different.”

Danny Glover is the first client in an effort towards community upliftment

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the celebration continued as Danny Glover stepped forward to become the shop’s first customer. Sitting in the barber’s chair as clippers buzzed and cameras flashed, the legendary actor received the first haircut inside the new space — a symbolic moment marking the official opening of the shop.

The moment drew smiles and applause from those gathered, capturing a scene that reflected both community pride and the spirit of support behind the project.

GLIDE’s barbershop officially launched on March 5 and is located at 330 Ellis St. in San Francisco’s Tenderloin.

Services and hours are designed to provide both grooming and access to deeper support services — and the haircuts are free.

The barbershop is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Grooming services are offered Tuesday through Saturday.

Counseling, case management and support groups are offered Monday through Friday.

The shop is more than a haircut — it’s an invitation to critical health conversations, building dignity, strengthening community, and creating a pathway to GLIDE’s full continuum of care.

In a city searching for solutions to overlapping crises of addiction, homelessness and mental health challenges, GLIDE’s barbershop reflects a simple but powerful idea: Meet people where they are.

And in the heart of the Tenderloin, where struggle and resilience have long lived side by side, GLIDE continues its legacy — turning the timeless tradition of the Black barbershop into a place of dignity, healing and brotherhood, where a free haircut can open the door to conversation, community and a new beginning.

Kevin Epps is a Dad, award-winning filmmaker, community activist, author, executive editor of the SF Bay View “National Black Newspaper” and a board member for the SF Bay View Foundation. Reach him at kevin@sfbayview.com or on Instagram: kevinepps1.

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Jeffrey Epstein by Rick Friedman, Corbis 

by Jason Renard Walker 

It has been six years since pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in his cell between Aug. 9 and 10, 2019. To call his death anything other than a government financed effort to silence him from implicating prominent others on the political left and right is a disgrace to the victims. Such an insensible pivot from logic to an unsubstantiated belief tediously ignores the evidence on record, regardless of what his death was officially ruled as. 

It is important for us to take a moment to reiterate the facts of this matter. As it seems, and with the help of conservative news outlets, members of Donald Trump’s cabinet and their ilk are engaged in a full court press campaign that is designed to distract the public from discoveries in the unredacted version of the Epstein files, murderous ICE agents in Minnesota, and Trump’s failing efforts as president. To achieve this end, outlets like FOX News have given 24 hour coverage to the Nancy Guthrie disappearance, sprinkled with a dash of unfounded Trump-based conspiracies, political blame games, and falsities on how great “Trump’s economy” is. 

In Europe, where Epstein was well connected, those named in the files on that side of the world have been stripped of their royal titles and forced to resign from high end positions, as each one’s name slowly pops up. What this shows has nothing to do with justice, but the shame and embarrassment people abroad feel that named officials in the U.S. are too opportunistic to even pretend to empathise with. 

The official story 

The first time Epstein tried to commit suicide, he was placed on suicide prevention watch. He was upgraded to observation status after telling mental health staff he wasn’t suicidal. According to reports, these staffers noted in his file that at all times he was to have a cellmate. A day before he was found dead, his cellmate was moved to another location. 

On Aug. 10, 2019, jailers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas discovered Epstein hanging from a bunk in his cell as they were passing out breakfast. Epstein’s body was removed from the cell, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI both investigated the matter and each came back with the conclusion that he committed suicide. Five days after initially listing his death as inconclusive, and without explaining why, the Medical Examiner’s Office changed its ruling to suicide by hanging. 

Though the Associated Press tediously reports that Epstein died of suicide, other legacy media outlets simply suggest he died in jail. The former version of events is what has become historic law, under the notion that he committed suicide to abort the obligation of giving his victims justice. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The authorized coverup 

Former New York Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Baden expressed on an episode of Oz and during an interview with CBS 60 Minutes that the findings from Epstein’s autopsy, which his brother Mark hired Baden to witness, show that Epstein didn’t commit suicide, but was in fact strangled to death by another individual.(1) “In a hanging, the arteries and the blood vessels, the veins are both clogged off and the person is pale. The face is pale.” he told Dr. Oz, while further suggesting “with a manual strangulation, there’s a back up of a pressure and the little capillaries can rupture and they’re best seen in the eye.” During this appearance, he showed Dr. Oz a picture of Epstein’s ruptured capillaries and lack of a pale face. 

Baden explained how it is unusual for an autopsy in a prison setting to be changed from inconclusive to suicide. And how Epstein’s lower legs weren’t purplish or maroon like they are in suicide by hanging cases. Another key detail Baden pointed out to Dr. Oz in photos taken during the autopsy was three broken bones in Epstein’s neck, which he said doesn’t occur in suicide by hanging.

The keys I used in determining whether he died by murder or suicide came from 1) examining the evidence presented to the public, 2) 17 years of experience in witnessing similar suspicious deaths and 3) common sense. 

For instance, as Epstein lay on the floor during his supposed first attempt to commit suicide, he told responding staff that his cellmate tried to kill him, but later changed his story. This cellmate, ex dirty cop Nicholas Tartaglione, was charged in a 17-count indictment that includes mass murder and kidnapping. Yet staff felt it was in the best interest of security that he be housed with a high profile pedophile. 

After being upgraded to observation status, Epstein was moved to a special cell equipped with a surveillance camera inside to monitor him and was given a new cellmate. This, they say, was a measure to comply with mental health staff orders even though he told them he wasn’t suicidal, nor had he tried to harm himself in the past. 

Ironically the records show investigators never treated his cell as a potential crime scene nor did they identify what was supposed to have been tied around his neck. Instead they collected two items, claimed it had to be one or the other and eventually threw them away. His new cellmate was moved a day before he was killed (which could be false documentation or because there was no conflict) and the in-cell surveillance camera and every camera in proximity to the crime scene malfunctioned. 

In an attempt to hide these oddities from the public and to hush truth-seekers, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released a surveillance video she claimed was of Epstein’s cell door. Since it didn’t capture any inmates going in or coming out, this was her proof that no one had entered his cell. The scheme was Mickey Mouse at best. 

Not only was the video she produced of a door that leads guards in and out the cellblock, that Fox News sold to its viewers. It was missing two minutes and 53 seconds of footage and had been scrubbed with Adobe premiere editing software first. Bondi’s excuse about this during an oversight grilling was that after a year, part of the surveillance footage is automatically deleted because it loops back around. 

Despite this making no sense, everyone seems to have moved on or bought her excuse, which is why I think it is important that these facts be restated ad nauseam. 

To conceal their duty breach, Noel and Thomas falsified the security check logs to reflect that they’d checked on Epstein every 30 minutes during their shifts that stretched over 16 hours straight for one and 24 hours for the other. In reality one of the few cameras working that day captured them spending most of the shift sleeping at their duty post for hours at a time and surfing the internet for furniture and motorcycles. This mishap is what got them both criminally charged and fired, with the felony charges eventually being dismissed in a non-prosecution plea agreement. 

While Baden’s report is probative to showing that Epstein didn’t commit suicide, as you can see, it is not the only evidence I and other skeptics out there have used to come to this alternate conclusion. What it did do was reinforce my belief and the facts I used to draw the inference in a past article.(2) 

The following are questions that steered me from believing the official story; they are, by design, still unanswered. 

1) Why was an ex-cop who was charged with murder, kidnapping etc. assigned to be Epstein’s cellmate? 

2) Why weren’t any of the surveillance cameras that could see inside and outside Epstein’s cell door working the day of his death? 

3) What evidence did the Medical Examiner use to guide him into ruling Epstein’s death a suicide? 

4) Why weren’t the fabrics found in Epstein’s cell examined by an expert or tested to see if his or anyone else’s DNA was on them? 

5) Why was Epstein given items that he wasn’t allowed to have while on observation status?

Unanswered questions like these should have anyone who truthfully believes Epstein killed himself concerned about the lengths to which the powerful will go to keep their immoral desires secret. If a person like him ends up dead in jail and the head of the DOJ’s only response is to dupe the public by lying and forging evidence to fit the suicide narrative, this is a sign of corruption and coverups, not law and order. And this also raises the question: What other similarly situated people were killed in this scandal and in scandals of the past, and who’s next? 

Team MAGA and those in support of keeping the lid on the Epstein files may try to dumb down the event as a Democrat hoax and petty smear campaign we all need to move on from. But remember they were the instigators that opened this can of worms the Biden administration smartly kept closed. That’s because this is one of those rare glitches in world politics where the veil of integrity has been pierced and it’s no longer about partisanship. It’s about misguiding an inquisitive people in order to preserve the status quo of the ruling class, regardless of how some of its minions behave when they think no one is looking. And this is something the public must not be distracted into moving on from. 

Of course there will be those on the left and right, like Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, who will fight for us to advance in this matter like bourgeois puppets are supposed to. But even their reach will come to a dead end, because they in no way will ever engage in any serious struggles for power. To do so is intuitively contradicting to the fundamental laws of capitalism, which they are servants to and slaves of. 

Had Epstein been kept alive, there is a very good chance he would have gotten a deal the victims were comfortable with, faded the civil suits, gone to prison and we’d have all moved on. But the number of prominent individuals who caroused with Epstein, as the newly released files prove, and what they communicated to him, was too embarrassing and career-ending for someone to risk becoming public knowledge. 

Why kill Epstein? 

In order to suggest that Epstein was killed as part of a conspiracy to prevent him from implicating prominent others in a child sex trafficking ring, the information he had not only had to be valid – merely putting their names in the mix would have to have a negative domino effect on the reputations of more people than the most powerful of the lot could throw under the bus. For starters, the DOJ erroneously released, then removed from their website, a picture of Epstein in a room with boxes that had CIA stamped on them. This photo alone does not have a negative effect, but how they handled it assists in bringing the totality of what’s in the files to a boiling point. 

Following and in response to 3 million documents from the Epstein files being released in January, which is only 50% of the total amount stored, it is apparent that he engaged with more high class and powerful men and women than I expected. This includes a wealth of college professors, academics, members of foreign intelligence agencies, multiple owners of NFL teams, the crowned princess of Norway and performance artists, to name a few. 

In many of the released email exchanges Epstein had with some of them, a variety engage him in a manner where they acknowledge his ways, give him advice on how to worm out of his charges, thank him for a torture video, or schedule to party on his island after becoming aware he was a registered sex offender. 

Just in the U.S., as soon as the following people’s names appeared in the newly released files, they conveniently resigned from their jobs. This includes Yale computer science professor David Gelemter, museum curator David Ross, former attorney and White House counsel to President Obama Kathryn Ruemmler, and CEO of Wasserman Media Casey Wasserman. 

This small portion by itself is reason to have Epstein silenced before he could cut a deal and talk.

According to the files and his own admission, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose name appears a ton of times and was Epstein’s next-door neighbor in New York, was invited to his island in 2012. Not only did he take Epstein up on this offer, Lutnick brought his children, wife and nanny. In 2014 he got back in touch with Epstein to make a business deal. 

He initially lied about his relationship with Epstein on a podcast, claiming to have only visited his New York mansion once before Epstein’s jail sentence. The experience, he said, was too creepy to continue communicating with him and he ended the relationship then. 

The name of Dr Mark Tramo, a neurologist at UCLA, came up in an email exchange he had with Epstein. Though he claims his connection with him was always rooted in cultivating donations, as Epstein’s jail term came to an end, Tramo sent him an email stating “only 13 days to go, buddy!!!! – where and when’s the party?” After this email came up he told the Associated Press he didn’t know Epstein’s crimes involved underage girls until years later. 

So as you can see, there is a pattern of politicians and others in the U.S. that continued to engage with Epstein after he registered as a sex offender and most likely lied about knowing because the consequences are beyond being shamed. They can be career-ending, or in Epstein’s case – something to die for. 

While the Trump administration is trying to cover up the scandal, the governments in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe are beginning to open up investigations, which include Americans and Epstein’s connection to their intelligence agencies. 

Recently the UK Ambassador to the U.S. resigned after files surfaced showing he gave Epstein a heads up on the government’s response to the EU debt crisis before it happened. This is in lockstep with the prime minister of Slovakia’s National Security Advisor resigning after his name appeared. 

Thorbjrn Jagland, who headed the Norwegian Nobel committee from 2009-16, is one example. He and Terje Rod-Larsen, a Norwegian diplomat who introduced Epstein to Jagland, were charged in Norway with “aggravated corruption” after their names appeared. Evidence suggests Epstein, with the knowledge of Steve Bannon, Richard Branson, Larry Summers and Bill Gates, was involved in attempting to lobby the Nobel Peace Prize. In a 2018 email exchange found in the file between Epstein and Bannon, Epstein writes “donalds head would explode if he knew you were now buds with the guy who on Monday will decide the nobel peace prize.” 

Trump has a lot more to worry about. His name appears thousands of times, with damning allegations in reports that weren’t supposed to have been released. Such as him supposedly slapping a 13-year-old girl for biting him while she performed oral sex, and raping children. In one FBI report a police chief told them that Trump called him after Epstein’s first arrest, thanked him for finally catching him and admitting that he and others already knew Epstein was raping children. 

True or not, the fact that governments throughout the world are responding to one man Trump insists no one cares about, is proof enough that the files hold weight. What made Epstein so charming to so many rich and powerful people was his availability, skewed sex life, a secret platform they could use to walk on the wild side, and connections to other like-minded people, where their interests could be shared, profited off of, invested in and expanded. 

So to those who still believe Epstein killed himself and the content of the files is made up, just take a look around; the aftermath is real. 

Sources 

1) Lee Brown and Yaron Steinbuch: “Disturbing Evidence in Jeffrey Epstein’s Autopsy Points to His Murder” 

2) See my article. “The Murder Of Jeffrey Epstein: The Facts, The Theory, The Evidence.” www.jasonsprisonjournal.com.

Jason Renard Walker is a prison journalist who has published articles and essays in various print and online media outlets since 2016. His work can be viewed at: www.jasonsprisonjournal.com You can also purchase his paperback book ‘Reports From Within The Belly Of The Beast: Torture And Injustice Inside Texas Department Of Criminal Justice’ available on amazon.com

Send our brother some love and light: Jason Renard Walker, 1532092, Powledge Unit, PO Box 660400, Dallas, TX 75266.

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Dr. Butch Ware, California gobenatorial candidate

San Francisco – Dr. Rudolph “Butch” Ware, candidate for governor of California with the Green Party, joined the picket line at Malcolm X Academy Feb. 9 to demonstrate his enthusiastic support for United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) as they launched their historic strike. As a professor of history at UC Santa Barbara, he expressed strong support for the educators’ demands, which align with the campaign’s policy platform of equitable funding for public schools regardless of ZIP code and a living wage for all educators. 

Dr. Ware promises strong support for unions after he wins the governor’s race: “When we win, I’m going to have the backs of the unions.” 

“Who has led the way in organizing for power in the last century? Unions have,” Dr. Ware emphasized during his remarks on the picket line. “And don’t let nobody cause you to desist from this fight, because this is a sacred struggle for all of our liberation.”

“We see what you and all of our special education teachers do,” Dr. Ware says as he stresses the need for more funding for educators. 

One of the members of the bargaining committee for UESF, a paraeducator, stressed that the union was composed of not just teachers, but many different roles that all contribute to the day-to-day functioning of public schools. Echoing this, Dr. Ware added, “I’m the father of a 15-year-old son with special needs. … We see you – what all of our special education teachers do, our aides, our paraeducators – because the next generation, that’s what we’re investing in and that’s what we’re fighting for.” 

SFUSD has the necessary funding to meet all of UESF demands and is painting a false narrative, according to UESF. 

“These people [at SFUSD, San Francisco Unified School District] are holding $429 million of taxpayer money in reserves, and they are crying poor, telling you that they can’t afford to pay teachers,” Dr. Ware said, echoing UESF’s demand that SFUSD dip into its reserve funds, instead of obstructing union demands with a projected budget deficit. The Butch Ware for Governor campaign is in full support of all of UESF’s demands and hopes that SFUSD will come back to the bargaining table in good faith to keep the schools open for workers and students. 

About Butch Ware for California governor in 2026 

Dr. Rudolph “Butch” Ware is running for the governorship of California with the Green Party. He is a longtime organizer and movement builder, and he is a tenured professor of African and Islamic history at University of California, Santa Barbara. He ran as the vice presidential candidate alongside Jill Stein in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. His campaign is fully grassroots and does not accept corporate or super PAC donations. His platform includes guaranteed affordable housing, universal healthcare, free community and state college for California residents, fully funded and expanded public transit and more. 

To learn more, visit his website: https://www.butchware4gov.org/; Instagram: @butchware; Twitter: @ButchWare; Facebook: ButchWare4Gov2026; or contact Valielza Huynh-O’Keefe at press@butchware4gov.org.

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(Clicking the link and watching the video above will immeasurably enhance your understanding and enjoyment of this story.)

How I averted a heart attack and got a mystery illness instead

by Carol Harvey 

In 2027, when Trump’s Big Ugly Bill takes away Medicare and Medi-Cal, what will we all do then? 

Mystery story 

This is a mystery story about my excellent – but not so excellent – medical adventure and the national need for Universal Health Care.

Two questions:

[1] What the heck was wrong with me?

[2] In 2027, when Trump’s Big Ugly Bill takes away Medicare and Medi-Cal, what are we going to do? 

Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

On a sunny Saturday — Jan. 31, 2026 — I sat in a camp chair in the median of the Embarcadero across from the Ferry Building on San Francisco’s waterfront. A huge metal sculpture of a naked female loomed high on the left.

I was videoing a press conference. Speakers stood at the base of a pedestal on Harry Bridges Plaza. The monument honors Bridges, the Australian labor leader who — following the 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike — formed the ILWU, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. In a throw-forward to the Trump ICE Era, the United States government called the labor leader a subversive alien and tried to deport him. They failed, and he became a U.S. citizen. 

Steve Zeltzer, journalist and press conference organizer, facilitated five speakers, one of whom was me.

We were calling for Single Payer Health Care (better known as Universal Health Care). The situation was dire. Donald Trump’s Big Ugly Bill had just gutted Medicare and Medicaid. This pre-fascist madman highjacked our taxpayer money and gave it to his rich friends. 

Ana Malinow, MD

The first speaker, Ana Malinow, M.D., retired UCSF pediatrician and lead organizer for The Movement to End Privatization of Medicare, asserted that the capitalist state is profiting off the poor.

“If you don’t think profiting from sickness and poverty is this country’s through-line, think again. Medicaid is a classist, racist, second-tier health care system in the wealthiest country in the world. Apparently that’s what poor people deserve.” 

She said they were offering a series of virtual teach-ins. “We’re trying to teach the people in California about our US health care system and how we can achieve National Single Payer” (better known as Universal Health Care). 

(Look for contact information at the end of this article.)

Valielza Huynh-O’Keefe

Valielza Huynh-O’Keefe, County Council member of the San Francisco Green Party and press secretary for the Butch Ware for Governor campaign, said the Green Party works for the people.

Butch Ware is the only candidate for governor committed to establishing Universal Health Care in California.

“People really want free health care,” she said. “We need to elect independent people who don’t accept money from corporations — grassroots candidates (with) ties to their communities. 

“Malcolm X said Republicans are like a wolf. They make it clear they’re going to eat you. Democrats are more dangerous because they’re foxes that appear to be smiling. But they’re also trying to eat you.” Gavin Newsom ran on health care, then promised the nurses’ unions he’d pass CalCare in California. When he got elected, he couldn’t pass CalCare. 

“Eighty percent of people who declare medical bankruptcy are covered by health insurance — a racket. Blue Shield-Blue Cross don’t care about human health.

“My wife is a UCSF medical student,” she said. “She had to save thousands of dollars just to apply. We need National Single Payer to ensure that everyone has access, and everyone who wants to be a doctor and take care of their community doesn’t graduate with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.”

Steve Zeltzer

Steve Zeltzer, journalist and press conference organizer, reported that 32,000 Kaiser health care workers are on strike. “There’s not enough staff to take care of people. People spend days waiting for appointments. They can’t get mental health care in a timely fashion. 

“We need to get insurance companies —- billion dollars a year HMOs — out of Kaiser! Executives are making millions of dollars while people can’t make their payments (and) aren’t getting care.” 

In my mad dash across San Francisco following this press conference, an overworked nurse told me that California Pacific Medical Center purposely understaffs the hospital to save money. 

April Kamlin 

April Kamlin, an insurance agent for a free service called “Ask Ariana” that helps people in California navigate “this labyrinthine system” said she had to join in because she’s been sitting at her desk all open enrollment period talking to people who are crying because they can’t afford health care.

“We’ve had a front row seat to inhumane increases in healthcare prices — $794 a month to $2,709 dollars; $483 a month to $1,263.

“Every day I talk to people at a loss for how they’re going to pay. They’re sick — in the middle of important treatment — and have to sacrifice so they can continue their health care. 

“I’ve talked to people who’ve lost homes to medical debt and couldn’t afford to see doctors. They ended up homeless because they couldn’t pay their medical bills!”

Carol Harvey 

Steve introduced me, explaining that I’m a journalist for the San Francisco Bay View newspaper covering the healthcare crisis on Treasure Island and Hunters Point, both built on radioactive dumpsites. 

“The San Francisco Health Department held a hearing about health care on these former Naval bases. They said the medical system is not investigating the epidemic of cancers in Hunters Point and Treasure Island,” he said. 

“Plutonium was recently recorded in the air above Hunters Point. If it’s at Hunters Point, it’s in other communities.

“The corporate media don’t want to tell people what’s going on. They want to make money building condos on Treasure Island and Hunters Point.” 

I spoke. “Recently, the Navy said, OOPS! For 11 months we forgot to tell you there’s plutonium in your air. 

“Plutonium was the fuse for the Aug. 6, 1945, World War II Hiroshima bombing that fried 60,000 to 80,000 Japanese into walls. 

Breathing dust alone can stop your heart. Plutonium is a radioactive silver metal dust that stays in your bones producing cancer throughout your life. 

“Hunters Point Naval Base is the center of the strongest emissions. Wind pouring through the Golden Gate is blowing plutonium from Hunters Point over all of us right now. You can’t see the tiny particles floating in the air, but, they’re there.

“Across the US, Black people suffer environmental racism in industrialized zones. Hunters Point is seen as an industrialized zone because people of color live there. After years of fighting, they’re getting a clinic one day a month. 

“In the United States of Money — capital rules. Politicians need money to get elected. Trump controls them with money. 

“The answer is to get rid of capitalism, the gateway drug to the corporate state. Corporatism led to the global corporatocracy we now live under where superrich CEOs like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk literally run the world.

“It’s absurd that we’re the only country in the world without free health care. We need Single Payer in San Francisco partly because generations of Bayview and Treasure Island residents suffer shorter lives and early deaths from plutonium and other radioisotopes in their air. A clinic open once a month where Bayview residents can be tested is simply criminal. 

When the speakers finished, tourists in town for the Superbowl strolled past me giving me the victory sign. Somebody from Michigan or Indiana or wherever may have breathed in my face. Two days later, on Monday, Feb. 2, my not-so-excellent – but interesting — medical adventure began.

My excellent – but not so excellent – adventure: What was wrong with me? 

Around 1:00 a.m., as I sat at home documenting the press conference, I suddenly grayed out. I felt my head spin on my neck like a bobble-head doll. My sight returned, but my blood pressure soared.

Frantic, I called 911. What was happening? I knew high blood pressure could lead to a heart attack or stroke.

At 86, I have a life wish and a lot of stuff to do.

Paramedics from the Fire Department marched into my apartment, looming over me — beautiful young guys in their late 20s, early 30s, two brunette 30-something women. By the time they arrived, my blood pressure was back to normal. 

I asked for an EKG to see if my heart was in normal sinus rhythm. They stuck suckers on me everywhere — chest, back and hips. I pulled them off — literally for days. 

The EKG was fine, so I stayed home. 

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026

However, I was not spared. Two nights later, Wednesday, Feb. 4, while I was writing, I suddenly became dizzy. I felt a crushing sensation around my chest, shoulders and neck. My blood pressure spiked to 220. I thought, “My god! I’m having a heart attack!”

I stay up writing every other night. I had been awake for 48 hours. I started on a journey that lasted 60 hours with no sleep. It took me two days to recover.

Handsome guys and hot chicks wearing dark blue San Francisco Fire Department uniforms again flooded in. One took my blood pressure, the other an EKG. I decided to go to the ER.

They bounced me hard on a gurney into the back of the fire truck, and sped up and down the hills to the Kaiser ER at Geary and Masonic, where I’d gone many times before.

A huge crowd, mostly Black, sat in the waiting area — a cast of thousands in the cheap seats. I smiled hello. A pretty Black woman smiled back.

They wheeled me to a room.

I lay for hours freezing on the gurney under jackets and heavy blankets. I asked why they kept it so cold. “To kill bacteria,” they said. Yeah, while the patients die of hypothermia!

Like mean Nurse Ratchet in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the nurse stabbed me about 2 million times searching for a vein for blood tests and a CT scan. When she spiked me, I cried out. They actually got a security guard to hold me down. (ICE, anyone?) My roommate behind the curtain only complained once. Nine days later, purple hematoma battle scars march up and down my arms. 

During this ordeal, something happened inside my brain. Everybody looked beautiful! All these young people running around, doing stuff. I admired the hell out of them.

The fun part — not kidding — was being pushed down the hall for X-rays at rattling top speed. 

Back in my room, I slept. A long time later, a guy rolled me on a wheelchair to an empty room for a CAT scan. The tech slid me through a huge ring-shaped tube on a platform and said, “Lie still and do what the voice says.” The ring spun around me faster and faster. A voice commanded, “Inhale and hold your breath.” They’d injected warm contrast into my arm. The ring stopped whirring and slowly wound down. The tech said, “You’re a nice person.” “Thank you,” I said, wondering why. Maybe he was lonely in that big white room. Maybe I’m a nice person.

Back in the ER, a doc shocked me awake with good news. No heart attack. The chest pain was caused by pleural effusions, whatever that was. 

I rode home by ambulance and immediately conked out. Next morning, I read Kaiser’s After Visit Summary. It said, in addition to pleural effusions, I had small and large scattered lung nodules. Lung cancer, anyone? I screamed in my head at the smoker next door. 

I had no idea what pleural effusions were. It took four days of wild rides across the city to find out. 

Thursday, Feb. 5, to Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 

From Thursday, Feb. 5, to Friday, Feb. 6, I’m pretty sure I got nine hours’ sleep because I was rested for a friend’s visit.

I continued to feel chest pressure, so UCSF arranged a video visit with a nurse practitioner. After that, I still felt “wrong.” Pain was developing around the top of my head. A UCSF general medicine doctor said the combination of chest pressure and a headache worried him. I should go to their outpatient clinic in Mission Bay.

It took what seemed like a million years for my friend to navigate slow-and-go Super Bowl traffic past brightly lit San Francisco restaurants. 

I thought we were racing through the streets to outpace a heart attack. But, when we arrived, the nice Chinese doctor said his clinic was not equipped for cardiac problems. I should get myself to an emergency room. Oh, Brother!

Dreading another horrible Kaiser ER visit, I asked for an ambulance ride to the California Pacific Medical Center on Van Ness at Cathedral Hill.

Friday, Feb. 6, to Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026

From Friday, Feb. 6, to Saturday, Feb. 7, I stayed overnight in the CPMC ER. They did a second CT scan and X-rays. The doc said I had untreated “sort of pneumonia.” I assumed that “sort of” meant I was in the early stages and could catch it with antibiotics. 

Before sending me home by ambulance, CPMC gave me Levofloxacin and phoned a prescription to Walgreens. 

On the trip home, the paramedic, Miles, who was very smart, said he had wanted to be a reporter. I told him about my story, “Murdering Good.” 

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026

On Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, Doordash delivered more Levofloxacin. It gave me dry heaves. 

Back to the CPMC Pediatric ER 

Three sweet young guys from the Fire Department drove me back to CPMC AGAIN! I told them I was going to write an article, so they let me take their photo. 

At the Pediatric ER, a female doctor changed Levofloxacin to Doxycycline, which was milder, and called in a prescription.

On the way home in the ambulance, my now-friend Miles said he read my article, “Murdering Good.” I was really pleased!

Monday, Feb. 9, 2026

On Monday, Feb. 9, I asked myself — and eventually my doctor — why they stuck me in both arms so many times, and did double CAT scans and x-rays without giving me a definitive diagnosis. 

Why did I have nine days of running around exhausted to San Francisco emergency rooms and clinics before the CPMC doctor finally told me I had untreated “sort of pneumonia” that I could have caught early with antibiotics? 

Trying to puzzle it out, I resorted to Siri, “Are pleural effusions associated with pneumonia?” “Yes,” she said. “If pneumonia is left untreated, fluid may build up around the lungs, causing pleural effusions.” 

If pneumonia comes first and pleural effusions are the result, why didn’t someone tell me I had pneumonia? 

Actually, on my first ER run, Kaiser had begun to see it. The Wedesday, Feb. 4, report read, “Moderate left and trace right pleural effusions … clinical concern for pneumonia.”

Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 

After my nine-day mad dash through San Francisco, on Thursday, Feb. 12, during a video visit, my UCSF doc — the best doctor of my life — finally explained it. Fluid in my chest cavity from the pleural effusions had blocked the pneumonia on the x-ray.

The kicker

I received world class health care covered by Medicare and Medi-Cal at three San Francisco Medical Centers. 

Next year in 2027, when I’m 87, and Trump’s Big Ugly Bill comes due taking away Medicare and Medi-Cal, what will happen to me then? 

If not wanting to die from lack of medical care isn’t a convincing argument for Universal Health Care, I don’t know what is!

For information about Single Payer workshops, email nationalsinglepayer@gmail.com.

Carol Harvey is a San Francisco political journalist specializing in human rights and civil rights. She can be reached at carolharvey1111@gmail.com. 

The post The case for Universal Health Care appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Jeff “Ace” Walker

 by John Wallace

​For over two decades, the cry for “Freedom Now” has been the heartbeat of Jeffery Walker’s journey. Known to the community as Jeff “Ace” Walker, he is the creative force behind Ace Roses Gifts and Ace Entertainment. Yet, for 20 years, this entrepreneur and former Soul Train dancer has been entangled in a legal system at 850 Bryant St. that he — and a growing number of supporters — assert is built on a foundation of wrongful conviction and systemic gatekeeping.

​The resilience of a man serving as his own counsel

Jeff “Ace” Walker is more than a case file; he is “The Roseman,” a businessman who has consistently sought to bring beauty and entertainment to his community. In an inspiring display of grit, Jeff is currently acting as his own counsel, navigating the complexities of the law from behind bars to fight for his own exoneration. This move highlights his sharp mind and his refusal to let his voice be silenced by the system.

​Following his April 2025 acquittal on battery charges — a victory won while he stood for himself — the demand to FREE Jeff “Ace” Walker has moved into the spotlight. Because Jeff is representing himself, the community’s presence in the courtroom at 850 Bryant St. is more vital than ever. A packed gallery ensures that the proceedings remain transparent and that the court recognizes the high level of public interest in this case.

​Show your love: Support the movement

​To support the Jeff “Ace” Walker Campaign, we are calling on all those who believe in justice to show your love.

• ​Direct contact and court dates: If interested in helping or getting involved, or to find out the date and time for his next court appearance, please call Jeff at 408-217-6188. You can listen to a recording of updated dates and times or leave a message with your info for a callback.
• ​Donate and sign: Please feel free to donate to the legal fund and sign the petition at Change.org (search: “Free Jeffery Walker from Wrongful Conviction”).
• ​Courtroom support: Show up in person at 850 Bryant St. Your presence provides strength to Jeff as he argues his own case.
• ​T-shirt support: Support the campaign by ordering official apparel from QT Crafts. Contact Tiana at 916-218-9198.

​How to stand with ‘Ace’

• ​Volunteer/order a shirt: Call Tiana (QT Crafts) at 916-218-9198.
• ​Direct word from Jeff: Call 408-217-6188 (Call for recorded court dates or to leave a message).
• ​Spread the word: Use the hashtag #FreeJeffAce.

John Wallace, supporter of Jeff “Ace” Walker, can be reached at 408-217-6188 or rockboyw26565@gmail.com. 

The post The 20-year battle to free Jeff ‘Ace’ Walker from wrongful conviction appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Dr. Butch Ware 

by Barry Hermanson

For the third time in the last five years, Assemblyman Ash Kalra, with the sponsorship of the California Nurses Association (CNA), introduced the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act (CalCare), Assembly Bill (AB) 1900. 

Republicans in Congress recently passed massive federal funding cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). How will the Democratic Party respond? Will restoring and providing better healthcare be a major campaign theme in the mid-term Congressional elections this year? Will AB 1900 receive serious consideration in Sacramento or be swept aside because of opposition from the for-profit health care industry and their lobbyists? 

A good friend and fellow political activist recently told me that he didn’t think AB 1900 would get out of committee. I hope he is wrong but admit that he is probably right. There was no mention of the need to establish universal healthcare at the California Democratic Party Convention that was held in San Francisco at the end of February.

Last year, when I heard that CalCare would be reintroduced in 2026, I sent an email to organizers at CNA who were preparing for the campaign. I asked if there had been any change in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s opposition to CalCare. I never heard back. He is widely considered to be running for president in 2028. Removing profit, reducing costs and dramatically improving health care in America doesn’t appear to be one of his campaign issues.

CNA commissioned a new poll and found that 86% of Democratic Party voters support a proposal for a single-payer health care system in California. Half of all voters and 76% of Democrats would be more likely to support a candidate for governor if they were to run on creating a single-payer system. Powerful stuff. 

It seems like universal health care would be a winning issue that candidates would readily embrace. But, if you look at the websites of the major candidates for California governor, it is difficult to find much, if any, advocacy for universal health care. Remember the strong support Gavin Newsom expressed when he was first running for governor? He stood in front of CNA members seeking their endorsement and said it was a no-brainer to pass and implement universal health care.

The only candidate for governor of California who has made implementing universal health care a central issue in his campaign is Green Party candidate Dr. Butch Ware. I am disappointed to learn that CNA has endorsed Tom Steyer. On his website, there is no mention of universal health care or of CalCare (AB 1900). He may have told you he is a supporter, but he is not campaigning on the issue.

In the press release announcing the introduction of AB 1900, CNA states:

“This legislation will ensure that all Californians, regardless of employment, income, immigration status, race, gender, or any other considerations, can get the health care they need, free at the point of service. CalCare also includes long-term services and supports for people with disabilities and the elderly, a health care cost control system, and ways to address health care disparities.” 

The organization, National Single Payer recently hosted a webinar entitled: “At the Crossroads: The Crisis of the ACA.”

“The enhanced subsidies (now history) contributed to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Medicaid cuts threaten to kick millions off insurance and shutter over 300 rural hospitals, affecting the lives of millions more. A majority of Americans believe that national single payer, improved Medicare for all, free from profit is the only solution to our nation’s health care crisis. How do we organize the movement required at this moment?”

Because no Democratic Party candidate for governor is making CalCare a signature issue, I believe the California Nurses Association has a choice.  

1. You can watch AB 1900 die in committee once again because so many of our legislators and particularly our governor take money from the for-profit healthcare industry and their lobbyists. If it dies, the need for universal healthcare will become a non-issue for the remaining two candidates after the June primary election. Or,

2. CNA can tell voters about a candidate for governor who can not be influenced by the for-profit healthcare industry and their lobbyists. That’s Dr. Ware, who openly supports AB 1900. It is a major issue in his campaign. Some of the other candidates may express support for universal healthcare but rarely mention it on the campaign trail.

If Dr. Butch Ware is able to finish in the Top Two on the June primary election ballot, he will be one of only two candidates for governor on the general election ballot, and the need for universal health care and the major changes required to achieve it will be debated all the way to the November election. 

Barry Hermanson is a member of the San Francisco Green Party County Council. Before he retired, he owned and operated a small business and was a leader in the small business community in San Francisco.

The post CalCare (universal healthcare) is reintroduced in the California Assembly! appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by San Francisco Bay View Foundation

The San Francisco Bay View Foundation has launched a new collaboration with Kaiser Permanente San Francisco to support the San Francisco Bay View newspaper internship program. Kevin Epps, executive editor of the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, and Dr. Tiffany Caesar, volunteer internship coordinator at the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, will help to administer the internship program. 

The two San Francisco Bay View Newspaper student interns, Asé Mora and Landon Willis, will provide media coverage for the Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign, part of Kaiser Permanente San Francisco’s Mentoring for Health and Wellness Initiative.

Mora is a writing intern with the San Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper, and a freelance journalist based in the Bay Area. She is a senior at San Francisco State University studying journalism, with a minor in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, and Deaf Studies. Mora is also a staff reporter for Xpress Magazine, SF State’s student-run publication. 

Landon Willis is a writing intern with the San Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper. He is a second-year marketing student at San Francisco State University. He looks forward to using the skills he has acquired over the years for the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper internship. In addition to school, Willis enjoys exercise, music, and hanging out with friends. He is very passionate about film and acting and is currently working on creating his own feature film.

The Mentoring for Mental Health and Wellness Initiative at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco is a community investment supporting culturally grounded mentoring for youth and young adults ages 12–24. Through a $300,000 investment in 12 community-based organizations, this initiative aims to:

• Deliver culturally affiliated peer and intergenerational mentoring for teens in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point, Sunnydale, and Fillmore neighborhoods.
• Strengthen protective factors that support adolescent mental health through mentorship, care engagement, and coordinated support. 
• Reduce stigma around mental health in underserved communities by uplifting youth voices and community-led strategies. 
• Provide training, technical assistance, and platforms to share community stories, enhancing access to mental health and wellness resources for vulnerable youth in San Francisco.

The Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign will showcase 12 community-based organizations that are leading critical work in mental health, youth development, and wellness across the Bay Area. The participating organizations include: 

1. All My Usos

2. APA Family Support Services

3. Bounce Back Generation, Inc.

4. Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco

5. Glide Foundation

6. San Francisco Bay View Foundation

7. Hoop Bus Inc.

8. Old Skool Café

9. Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness

10. True Hope Evangelical Ministry

11. YMCA of San Francisco

12. Westside Community Health Services

Each month, the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper will produce and publish articles and media spotlighting different organizations’ stories, mission, and impact within the Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign.

The San Francisco Bay View Foundation is excited about this wonderful new work and welcome Asé Mora and Landon Willis as interns at the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper.

The post Kaiser Permanente San Francisco provides a $25,000 grant to the San Francisco Bay View Foundation to support newspaper internship appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Behind the neat row of Glenridge balconies lies a 275‑unit cooperative where deferred maintenance, safety risks, and unanswered complaints have become part of everyday life. – Photo: Kevin Epps 

by Tabari Morris

A promise to protect Black San Francisco, now in jeopardy 

In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, HUD-financed limited equity cooperatives in San Francisco were marketed as a way for displaced Black families and other working-class people to have a piece of the city they had helped build. Developments such as Martin Luther King-Marcus Garvey Square Cooperative Apartments and Freedom West Homes came out of the ashes of “urban renewal,” a policy that bulldozed over 20,000 mostly Black Fillmore residents’ homes and destroyed over 800 Black-owned businesses. 

“We were told this was our protection from being pushed out,” says one longtime shareholder at MLK–Marcus Garvey. “Now it feels like the ground is shifting under our feet again.” 

Yet a 2023 study of San Francisco’s limited equity co-ops conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes more simply: “Cooperative housing is in trouble.” Here, eight HUD-financed co-ops range from 58 to 300 units and house thousands of largely low income people of color. Where these co-ops were meant to be pillars for the Black community in San Francisco, they have become a zone of anxiety, litigation and quiet eviction.​ 

How the crisis shows up at home

For the residents, the crisis doesn’t begin with acronyms and agreements; it begins with leaks, broken systems and notices slipped under the door. At MLK–Marcus Garvey on Eddy Street, residents have lived through the backlog of repairs, internal strife, and the constant threat of losing federal subsidies and city support. At Midtown Park, residents formed a cooperative corporation but were challenged by the City about their very right to be owners. 

“We’ve sat through meeting after meeting, watched new managers come and go, but the mold is still in the walls,” a Western Addition co-op resident told SF Bay View. “If this is ownership, why do we feel so powerless?” 

Studies show that many of these co-ops kept their monthly “carrying charges” low to help families in need, but with no reserves, buildings deteriorated beyond repair. When major repairs are finally unavoidable, residents are asked to absorb unexpected increases in fees or complicated arrangements with outside developers — the kind of “choices” that don’t feel like choices at all. 

Why this hits Black San Franciscans hardest 

These HUD co-ops are not randomly distributed throughout the city; they are clustered in historic Black neighborhoods such as the Fillmore or Bayview, and they are predominantly occupied by low-income Black and other BIPOC individuals. In theory, limited-equity cooperatives are supposed to offer not just profit, but something more profound: what sociologists term “ontological security,” or a sense of security about your place in the world. 

“For our families, this wasn’t just an address — it was a foothold in San Francisco,” says a former Freedom West organizer. “Losing that foothold doesn’t just move you; it unmoors an entire community.”​ 

But when governance is strained, repairs are delayed, and oversight is reactive and fragmented, that security collapses. MIT’s study ties this to the larger narrative of racial justice: We invested in these co-ops in communities of color and disinvested just as the buildings were getting old and the politics were changing. There’s a sense of déjà vu for Black San Franciscans who lived through the trauma of urban renewal. 

For elders and disabled residents, this steep, dimly lit wooden walkway turns a simple trip home into a nightly hazard that the co‑op has failed to fix. – Photo: Tabari Morris 

Who’s at the table — and who gets left out 

On paper, there is a complex web of agencies and organizations accountable for these developments: the HUD, the San Francisco Housing Authority, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII), private management firms, and technical assistance non-profits. In practice, residents report being caught in a maze. 

“HUD blames the City, the City blames the board, the board blames management,” one co-op board member says. “Meanwhile we’re the ones living with the consequences.” 

In fact, a 2013 audit of the San Francisco Housing Authority identified a critical funding shortfall, thousands of unresolved work orders, and management problems, which reflect a culture of strained oversight in subsidized housing. More recent documents from the city suggest that the MOHCD provides one-off technical assistance grants and repair funds to a co-op in crisis. 

Meanwhile, newer limited-equity co-ops like those supported by organizations such as the San Francisco Community Land Trust and the city’s Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, such as Columbus United Cooperative in Chinatown, hint at what such a level of support could entail in terms of permanent affordability, community control, and technical assistance to resident boards. 

Tactics, pressure, and the quiet erosion of rights 

The same types of strategies are being reported by residents or shareholders of multiple cooperatives: legal threats regarding arrears, unclear financial reporting, uneven enforcement of bylaws, and changes in management that make it difficult to identify responsible parties. In some cooperatives, shareholders deemed to be problematic because they ask too many questions are being targeted with violation notices or excluded from important decisions. 

“They hope we’ll get tired, move away, or just stop asking where the money went,” says a shareholder leader at a small Tennessee Street cooperative. “But this is our corporation. We’re not going anywhere.”​ 

In the worst of circumstances, they become potential partners for a deal with a big developer or non-profit that can bring in the capital — but at the cost to the residents of potentially losing control. When the message to the residents, who have been sold the dream of collective ownership, is that the only way to save themselves is to give up the steering wheel, there are some difficult questions to be asked about what the ultimate beneficiary of the “salvation” of such a building really is. 

What SF Bay View will do between now and April 2026 

This article is the opening into an ongoing SF Bay View investigation into San Francisco’s HUD-financed and limited-equity cooperatives. By our April 2026 issue, we will: 

Publish the documents. We have submitted federal FOIA requests to HUD and CPRA requests to MOHCD, OCII, the San Francisco Housing Authority, and the City Controller seeking inspection reports, enforcement records, internal memos, and technical-assistance contracts for co-ops including MLK–Marcus Garvey, Midtown Park, Tennessee Street Housing Corp., Central Page, Columbus United and others. 

Map the portfolio. Using MIT research, UC analyses and city records, we will build and share a public map of San Francisco’s HUD-financed co-ops and limited-equity housing cooperatives — where they are, who they serve, and what risks they face. 

Follow the money. We will track how public dollars — HUD subsidies, city loans, rehab funds — have flowed through these developments, and which agencies and private actors made key decisions at critical moments. 

Name the players. From federal field offices to local departments, management companies to technical-assistance nonprofits, we will identify who holds power over these co-ops and what they did — or failed to do — as problems escalated. 

“We cannot fix what we refuse to see clearly,” says a Bayview housing advocate. “That means pulling every document we can, and then reading them together as a community.” 

Outside a shareholders’ meeting, a crumbling ramp and slick, uneven pavement send a clear message: accessibility and safety are still optional here. – Photo: Tabari Morris

How the community can shape this investigation

SF Bay View cannot tell this story without the people whose lives are on the line. Here’s how residents, shareholders, and neighbors can take part. 

Share your documents and experiences. If you live in or have lived in a HUD-assisted or limited equity co-op in San Francisco, we want to see: letters from management, board minutes, inspection notices, legal filings, and your own written complaints and responses. We will protect sources who request confidentiality, and we’ll work with you to verify and contextualize what you share. 

Reach out for interviews. We’re seeking conversations with shareholders, tenants, former and current board members, maintenance workers, and front-line staff. We also want to hear from elders who remember the early years — what they were promised and what they see now. 

Help us identify every co-op. If you know of a co-op, limited equity building, or HUD-assisted development that hasn’t been mentioned but fits this pattern, tell us. Your tips will shape our list of sites to investigate, visit, and request records about.​ 

Connect us to neighborhood organizers and legal advocates. Tenant unions, faith communities, legal clinics, and mutual aid groups often see the earliest warning signs. We are looking to collaborate on know-your-rights information, story circles, and public briefings as our document review progresses. 

Toward accountability — and the future these co-ops were meant to have

The goal of this series of articles is not only to tell the story of crisis but to help the community move forward to resolution. This means challenging the status quo with difficult questions and lifting up solutions that have already been tested in the Bay Area and other places by Black communities and their allies.

“These co-ops were supposed to be our firewall against displacement,” says one Fillmore resident who grew up in a HUD-financed co-op. “If we can repair the damage — and fix the system that broke them — we can still make that promise real for the next generation.” (FreedomWest)

In the coming months, SF Bay View will run a series of follow-ups exploring the details of various developments, the history of various decisions, and the specific demands of various policies and organizing efforts. We will evaluate each and every proposal according to the simple criterion: Does it allow Black and low-income families to stay in their homes with a real voice in their own destiny in the city they have always called home?

​

If you live in a co-op, used to live in one, or have been organizing around these issues, your voice belongs in this series.

Tabari Morris, a journalism student at City College of San Francisco and news editor of The Guardsman, City College’s student newspaper, is managing editor of the Bay View and can be reached at tabari@sfbayview.com. 

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The post Broken promise: HUD co-ops and the fight for Black San Francisco appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

When prison food fails, ramen becomes survival – at the cost of metabolic syndrome and shortened life expectancy.

by Tabari Morris

What the Mayo Clinic study found 

Researchers reported that people who consumed instant noodles several times a week were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome, heart disease and cancer, which were linked to high blood pressure, cholesterol and body fats. The research emphasized that the ultra-processed starch and extremely high sodium content of ramen noodles, especially when most of the broth is consumed, are major contributors to these health risks. 

The study revealed that individuals consuming ramen three or more times a week, especially men less than 70 years old and those who consumed alcohol, were at a considerably increased risk of mortality compared to moderate ramen consumers. Children who consumed only two servings of instant noodles per week were even found to have increased levels of metabolic syndrome. 

Why this matters outside prison 

Instant ramen is one of the cheapest, most time-efficient food options that can be found in most grocery stores, dollar stores and gas stations, making it a staple in many low-income homes, college dorms and food deserts. To many families, ramen is not just a comfort food, but a survival food, so any connection between the consumption of ramen and long-term disease is of great consequence to these communities that are already disadvantaged in terms of health outcomes. 

Nutrition experts point out that the majority of pre-packaged ramen noodles contain a significant portion of an individual’s daily required sodium intake in just one package. In addition to that, these packages contain very little fibers and whole foods. This can ultimately lead to hypertension, diabetes and heart diseases, which already plague Black, Brown and poor communities. 

Why it’s an emergency behind bars 

Within the walls of U.S. prisons and jails, instant ramen is not only a meal, it is a form of currency, comfort, and at times a lifeline when the quality and quantity of state-provided meals are worse than usual. Research and first-hand evidence indicate that those incarcerated make use of the commissary ramen to supplement the small and nutritionally poor meals served on the tray to create “spreads.” 

At the same time, the rates of chronic disease are far higher behind bars. High blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease are described as “nearly as common as ramen packets on the tier.” The connection to the metabolic syndrome and premature death that ramen use can create means that the product that satisfies hunger in prison may be contributing to the disease that contributes to the premature deaths of those in prison. 

What CDCR and prisons are doing now 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is experimenting with new meal programs such as vegetarian, plant-based, kosher and religious meat diets due to health-related and religious rights lawsuits. Additionally, several CDCR facilities have worked with staff and incarcerated people to develop food-related events such as a hummus challenge at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad to encourage healthier foods and more creative ways to serve plant-based foods. Which again is not related to the ramen issue because they are not using noodles in the meal substitutions. 

On a national scale, advocates and entrepreneurs have begun to promote lower-sodium, higher-quality ramen noodles in commissaries, seeking to reduce sodium content while improving nutritional value while acknowledging the importance of ramen in the prison economy. Nutrition analysis of federal prison menus has suggested that healthier ramen options can replace traditional instant noodles in federal prisons, providing lower sodium content and healthier fats. 

What’s still missing for incarcerated people

Despite all this, the vast majority of people in prison are still only offered a handful of options: state meals that they often say are inedible, and a commissary that is dominated by salty, ultra-processed foods like the typical ramen. People in prison do not get a say in what is provided, how it is prepared, or how research like this on the ramen is used, even though they are the ones whose bodies are on the line. 

Legal cases show that when incarcerated individuals try to assert dietary needs based on religion or health, they can be punished or removed from programs for something as small as buying meat-flavored instant ramen at the canteen  This phenomenon brings to light a larger issue: The institution offers unhealthy food and yet seeks to discipline those in prison for seeking ways to circumvent the inflexible and under-resourced food systems. 

Immediate steps prisons could take 

For instance, several options for immediate action that could begin to alleviate the ramen problem without waiting years for new contracts, as suggested by public health researchers and corrections nutrition experts, are: “Departments like CDCR and their vendors could quickly introduce low-sodium ramen varieties, already in development for the prison market, and set a maximum sodium content for any new instant noodle products sold in prisons.” 

Secondly, prisons could increase the availability of fresh or lightly processed foods like beans, whole grains, and frozen vegetables, and price these foods competitively with ramen noodles. Finally, prisons could incorporate nutrition labeling and education into their commissary programs and TV programming inside prisons, explaining to those incarcerated how ramen noodles’ frequency, salt content, and disease risk are related, so that they can make informed choices even when the choices are limited. 

Structural changes that need to happen 

In the long term, the argument goes, to treat prison food as a public health intervention rather than a punishment will mean rewriting the contracts and standards that currently prioritize the cheapest, saltiest options. States can set nutritional standards on commissary foods — such as sodium, sugar, and ultra-processed content per serving — and ensure vendors are offering healthy alternatives to prison staples such as ramen noodles. 

In other words, there could be independent oversight to review mainline meals as well as commissary food, with contract renewals based on decreased rates of diet-related disease markers. As this research on ramen continues to spread, departments like CDCR will increasingly be forced to either align their food policy with science or to admit that profit and control are being prioritized ahead of health and longevity.

Why this story must reach those inside

The populations most impacted by this information, those living on ramen in lockups, jails and prisons, are the populations least likely to be exposed to breaking health news or social media arguments about instant noodles. Without access to phones, the internet, or healthcare providers they can trust, many will continue to live on ramen daily, unaware that their “go to” for survival has been identified as a serious health risk.

This information gap makes a scientific study an invisible emergency to the millions of people who cannot “shop elsewhere.” Future reporting will examine the response of CDCR and other prison systems to the Mayo Clinic study — and will prioritize the voices of people who are incarcerated, who have a decisive say in what is served up on their trays and in their soups.

Tabari Morris, a journalism student at City College of San Francisco and news editor of The Guardsman, City College’s student newspaper, is managing editor of the Bay View and can be reached at tabari@sfbayview.com. 

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The post Topped ramen: Mayo Clinic flags ramen risks, exposing a hidden prison health crisis appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by JR Valrey

After abducting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the first couple of days in 2026, the US government announced the tightening of the unjust 65-year blockade against the socialist nation of Cuba, cutting off completely its supplies of Venezuelan and Mexican oil and furthermore threatening any country that helps Cuba with severe sanctions. These are the first stages in a US government plan for genociding the Cuban people, similar to how the US and Israelis have blocked food and resources from coming into Gaza over the last few years and implemented a genocide on the Palestinian people. 

Maria Mirabel and her family live in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which was ravaged by Hurricane Melissa in October of ’25, with 90,000 buildings damaged and her family’s house destroyed. With very limited financial help from outside of Cuba, like most Black Cubans on the island, Maria and her family are literally fighting hunger daily, struggling to survive in an economy that the US government has been slowly strangling. 

She has been sharing her story in the SF Bay View over the last couple of months, so that our readers can read in real time about the mass murder and human rights violations that the US government is committing, under the blockade and after tightening it. It’s easy to scroll past headlines but harder to scroll past the lives of real people who are being destroyed with our tax dollars in the US. If you are interested in financially donating to Maria’s family, you could contact blockreportradio@gmail.com. 

JR Valrey: How has life in Cuba been affected after suffering a blockade for more than six decades and now that the U.S. government has stopped all oil shipments? 

Maria Mirabel: Cuba has been under a blockade for many years, a blockade that deprives us of many benefits. But the chaos we are experiencing now in Cuba is unprecedented. Without oil, which is essential for generating electricity and transportation, we are in a very critical situation. There is no transportation or food available, both in family homes and in schools, which are currently closed for the same reason. Despite the US blockade, we also have an internal blockade imposed by both the government and the people themselves. Those with money live; those without die. We are in a continuous struggle for survival, on the verge of being exploited by one another. The prices of basic foods like rice, oil, and others are exorbitant, and a sack of charcoal costs 5,000 pesos. This is the only way we can cook because of the lack of electricity, since not everyone can afford a generator or electric plant. We have to use charcoal or firewood from dry trees, and that is how we are living on this island, almost without hope and without knowing what tomorrow will bring.

JR Valrey: What measures have people taken to adapt?

Maria Mirabel: What measures have we taken to adapt? The thing is, nobody can adapt to this way of life; it’s about surviving, not adapting.

JR Valrey: How have food prices been affected compared to this time last year?

Maria Mirabel: Cuba has been facing an extreme food price situation for over five years. With the onset of COVID-19, followed by the currency devaluation, the situation worsened significantly. As we Cubans say, money here is practically worthless. You can have a million Cuban pesos, but in the end, you can’t buy what you need or feed yourself properly. Today, with the embargo, the food situation is even more dire. We’re living through a second Special Period, but far worse than the first. Prices are sky-high: A bottle of oil costs 2,500 Cuban pesos, a small bag of rice 800 Cuban pesos, and everything is incredibly expensive, getting more so every day.

JR Valrey: How much drinking water does each family have? How quickly do you and your children use it? 

Maria Mirabel: Well, I’ll tell you straight up that we’re not used to drinking bottled water, only those with money drink purified water or bottled water sold in markets, because for everyone else it’s the water that comes through the tap, which isn’t purified and has to be boiled.

Right now, we’re not having too much trouble with the water; it’s arriving every four days. The thing is, you need to have several tanks or large containers to store it in, like a cistern.

JR Valrey: Do people in your neighborhood go hungry if they don’t receive help from outside? How do the less fortunate cope? 

Maria Mirabel: While most Cubans typically face hardship unless they receive financial assistance from abroad, the current situation, with such high prices and unemployment, is particularly dire, especially among the elderly who live on pensions and receive less than $5 a month in Cuban pesos. This barely covers a snack, let alone a meal, and the need is considerable.

It’s sad to have nothing to eat in a country where there’s no milk for children and they don’t have the right to proper nutrition. It’s sad to see how we’re slowly destroying ourselves and taking advantage of each other, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

JR Valrey: What is a typical day like for you right now? 

Maria Mirabel: A normal day is never truly normal because there’s always something missing and my head is full of worries, but I, in particular, am a little calmer when I have food for my children amidst so much chaos.

JR Valrey: How much money do you need to buy enough food for your family for a week? How much money is needed for a month’s worth of groceries?

Maria Mirabel: That explanation is a bit difficult because it costs a lot. Just with everything we’re going through and the lack of oil, a package of chicken costs 7,500, almost 20 dollars. And when you buy rice, oil and milk for the children because the government doesn’t give them any, it costs a lot if you buy most of the necessary things, but you always buy as much as your money allows.

With 200 dollars I bought 3 small packages of rice, 3 of beans, 3 of macaroni, 5 packages of 500g spaghetti, 2 one-liter bottles of oil, 3 pounds of malanga, 6 heads of garlic, and 10 small sodas, chili peppers and onions.

I wouldn’t know how to answer that because Cubans spend a lot of money, living day to day, working just to eat, because the idea of ​​living well with comforts is a distant memory.

JR Valrey is a veteran journalist who can be heard weekly on Wednesdays on 89.5FM KPOO or KPOO.com from noon to 3 p.m. His work can also be heard on www.blockreportradioworld.com. 

The post US to Cuba: Genocide by way of oil blockade appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Sudanese Refugees

by Ann Garrison

The US is funding a genocide. Of course we all know that, but how many of us know about Sudan?

US responsibility for genocide in Sudan is less obvious than US responsibility for genocide in Gaza. It’s one step further removed. Simply put, the US arms Israel as it commits genocide in Gaza, but the US also arms the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which arms the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as they commit genocide in Sudan. 

The US role in Sudan is no less heinous than its role in Gaza.

The context of the Sudan genocide is the Sudanese Civil War (2023–present), distinguished by dates from the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) and the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). Two months ago I had a long conversation about the genesis and history of the current war with Sudanese Sovereign Media Editor Ahmed Kaballo, which is posted to the Black Agenda Report YouTube Channel. Another good source is Decolonize Sudan.

As Kaballo said, Sudan is now the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Sudanese suffer much as Gazans do but their numbers are far greater. The entire population is 52 million, and according to the UN Refugee Agency, reporting in April 2025, 13 million had to flee their homes. Roughly 4.5 million were refugees in neighboring countries, and roughly 8.6 million were internally displaced. One million refugees from neighboring countries were already living in Sudan prior to the civil war’s outset. 

In February 2026, the International Rescue Committee reported that Sudan topped its list of countries at the highest risk of new or worsening humanitarian crises for the third year in a row. 

“Even before the war erupted in April 2023,” they wrote, “Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis that left 15.8 million people in need of aid. Now, over 1,000 days of war have drastically worsened these conditions, displacing over 12 million people and leaving 33.7 million people — approximately two-thirds — in need of humanitarian support.”

Kaballo said they were eating insects, cow food and hay. They were dying of drone fire, gunfire, torture and dengue fever. 

On Feb. 23, 2026, Sovereign Media posted a thread on X on the new UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission’s report filled with horrifying accounts of mass rape, mass execution,and weaponized famine. It said that the RSF has openly declared their intent to “clean” the non-Arab population of Al-Fashir, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State.

For all that, the worst thing about this report may be that it holds back from identifying the UAE as the power providing weapons to make all this possible. By failing to identify the UAE, it of course also fails to identify the US, which sells weapons to the UAE. 

“This omission,” Sovereign Media writes, “highlights the diplomatic immunity purchased by the Emirates’ petro-wealth, even as their proxy militia commits unspeakably shocking atrocities. 

“Ultimately, this report exposes the limitations of a UN dominated by Western imperial interests, where the ‘sanctity of international law’ is selectively silenced to protect a strategic ally bankrolling a genocide.”

What is to be done?

What is to be done besides raising funds for emergency relief? Always the question and particularly challenging with regard to a conflict so distant, complicated and unfamiliar, even to the American left, which is well versed in US crimes committed in Gaza, Venezuela and Ukraine, however contradictory their conclusions may be. 

It’s even more so because the UAE has become such a key “security partner” to the US and Israel and because various members of the UAE’s ruling class are involved in so much corruption with Donald Trump and his family. 

Nevertheless, in November 2025, two Democrats, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and California Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa, introduced the “Stand Up for Sudan Act,” Senate Bill 935 and House Resolution 2059 in their respective committees and in the Senate and House. 

Van Hollen addressed an all but empty Senate chamber to introduce the bill on Nov. 20, 2025, and sounded genuinely anguished by the tragedy and horror he described. He seems to be about as good as Democrats get on foreign policy, an opponent of sending offensive weapons to Israel but a supporter of the iron dome defense system, and an advocate of humanitarian relief to Gaza. He’s also a vocal opponent of war with Iran and the US mission to “police the world” but not yet among the 21 House members who’ve signed Rashida Tlaib’s bill recognizing the Gaza genocide.

Van Hollen has voted against National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) that he deemed excessive, particularly when opposing the use of military funds for domestic political purposes or unauthorized actions.

It’s noteworthy that he’s also a rising power in the party thanks to his success at helping to elect other Democrats.

At least one other senator was present for his speech, Iowa Republican Joni Ernst. She jumped up at the end to object because of the close US security partnership with the UAE, which appeared to be her assignment. 

Congresswoman Jacobs’ record on Israel/Gaza is similar to Van Hollen’s, albeit complicated by the facts that she’s Jewish with family in Israel and represents a district with a considerable military industry. She voted against the 2026 NDAA, citing concern about the military’s role in domestic law enforcement.

I include these summaries in the interest of knowing who Sudan’s friends in Congress are. 

There’s been little progress on the Stand with Sudan Act since it was introduced, no sign that it’s even been heard in committee, and of course nothing’s getting passed anyway because of the near deadlock in both chambers.

Despite the horror stories mounting daily, the only hope for this bill is a big Democratic swing in the mid-terms. Even if it were to pass in the Senate and House, Trump would all but certainly veto it, not wanting to inconvenience his financial partners in the UAE, and a two-thirds vote in both chambers would of course be required to override a veto.

Passing this bill ultimately — however distantly — is not out of the question. The sole piece of legislation that President Obama shepherded into law on his own as a senator was the very similar S. 2125: Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, otherwise known as “the Obama Bill.” It evidenced deep understanding of the conflict, presumably Obama’s, and President Bush — who had no business deals known to be of relevance — signed it without objection. 

The bill stipulated that the US would not provide arms to foreign aggressors in Congo, specifically naming Rwanda and Uganda. What happened after that is its own story, but needless to say, it did not end the Congo conflict. 

Again, what is to be done? Daunting as it seems, activists for Sudan have no choice but to try and stem the flow of US weaponry to fuel a genocide in Sudan via the UAE and its proxy, the RSF. 

A major flaw in the text and ancillary citations of both the Senate bill and the House resolution is that they can be disregarded in the interest of national security.

This makes it seem well beyond daunting, but as the Sudanese continue to suffer the most brutal aggression, we have to try. One definite consequence of the Obama Bill was that it was used to educate, and awareness, of course, precedes action.

Everything I’ve said here is painful to consider, so I’m going to close by recommending Jindi & Alijoma’s “One Love Sudan.”

Ann Garrison is a Black Agenda Report Contributing Editor and independent journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, she received the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize for her reporting on conflict in the African Great Lakes region. Please support her independent journalism on Patreon. She can be reached at ann@anngarrison.com. 

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