October 06, 2016 

City News Service 

Mayor Eric Garcetti is backing a $3.3 billion bond measure to raise money for the construction and repair of buildings at Los Angeles community colleges, proponents announced on Wednesday.

Measure CC would allow for bonds to be issued to pay for new buildings such as library, athletic, science lab, job training, childcare and other facilities to be built at the Los Angeles Community College District's nine campuses.

Garcetti said the bond measure goes along with his efforts to institute free tuition at community colleges.

“I recently announced the L.A. College Promise Plan, which calls for one year of free tuition at our community colleges,” he said. “Now that we will be making our community colleges even more accessible for our students, we need to make sure that we have the facilities and space that is necessary to accommodate the demand.”

Measure CC is one of three tax measures Garcetti is backing on the Nov. 8 ballot.

He is also actively pushing for the passage of Measure M, a countywide half-cent sales tax measure to fund public transportation projects, and Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion bond measure to pay for housing for the homeless.

September 29, 2016 

LAWT News Service 

Execs at Head Not The Tail Productions said they are excited to announce the forthcoming screening of the company’s important and timely documentary titled Invisible Women: Being a Black Woman in Corporate America. The film, directed by Melody Shere'a and executive produced by Monica Simmons, is a powerful and inspiring documentary that is the result of a year-long research study interviewing black professional women in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. Invisible Women uncovers and addresses issues around racism that profoundly affect black women in the corporate workplace. The women share respective experiences of disappointment and rejection when simply trying to earn a living and/or compete against white, Asian and women of other races for a higher step on the corporate ladder.

Invisible Women will screen Wednesday, October 12, 2016 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Valley Center for the Performing Arts, a unique performance facility that exists in the Oakland Hills on the scenic campus of Holy Names University (3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, CA). The evening will encompass the film viewing, reception and panel discussion. Tickets are $20 through Oct. 2; $30 thereafter.

"For the production of Invisible Women, we interviewed black women of varied professional levels who generously shared their previously untold stories and feelings around race-related issues on the job," said Shere'a, HNTT Productions founder and CEO. "In conducting the research, we found the corporate practice of discrimination to be a common harsh reality faced by countless women of color. We also interviewed experts who provide employment reports and statistical data on this topic."

“Shere'a, the film's director and executive producer Simmons are talented sisters. They have each personally experienced workplace race and gender discrimination throughout their corporate careers, which is how they conceived the idea to develop this documentary,” said a spokesperson for the event.

“HNTT Productions partnered with non-profit organizations BlackFemaleProject.Org and Center for Talent Innovation to dig into the issues, look at the facts, explore the reality of working in corporate America as a black woman and delve into ways to improve the environment for tomorrow's young black corporate professionals.

“While there is certainly lobbying at local, state and federal levels for gender equality and diversity in the workplace, women's discrimination remains a troubling issue that as yet has not been adequately addressed. Though numerous entities address the issue by hiring and promoting more women into management positions and corporate executive roles, a considerable recognition/advancement gap still exists for black women.

“The playing field isn’t level and well-qualified black women are too frequently denied the opportunity to explore similar career growth opportunities as their white and other female counterparts. The facts and details you will learn from this documentary will surprise you…” 

September 22, 2016 

Associated Press 

As wages for American workers have stagnated for more than a generation, the income gap between black and white workers has widened, and discrimination is the main reason for the persisting disparity, according to a new report.

The Economic Policy Institute also found that young black women are being hit the hardest. This gap remains even after controlling for factors like education, experience, or geography.

The wage gap today is “worse now than it was 36 years ago,” said Valerie Wilson, director of the liberal-leaning think tank’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy.

“For the most part, wages have been fairly flat since 2000, as have incomes and other economic measures,” Wilson said. “As we’ve seen this overall stagnation, those racial disparities have grown.”

According to the report released Tuesday, as of 2015, black men living in similar metropolitan areas and regions of the country make 22 percent less than white men with the same education and experience. For black women, the number is 34.2 percent less. Black women made 11.7 percent less than white women.

Since 1979, median hourly wage growth has fallen short of productivity growth for all workers, regardless of race or gender. Meanwhile, wages for black men and women have grown more slowly than for whites — resulting in the wage gap remaining unchanged or expanding in the decades that followed.

The report points to several reasons for the widening gap, while noting discrimination has consistently played a major role. Few black workers have the kinds of top-wage earning jobs that have seen the majority of growth during the studied period. The decline of unions — which have historically been helpful to black workers seeking income equality — has also contributed to the disparity.

And the report concludes that having a college degree worsens the gap, counter to the idea that education is the key to a more equal society.

While black male college graduates entering the workforce in the 1980s had less than a 10 percent disadvantage compared to whites, by 2014, similarly educated black men started their first jobs at a deficit of roughly 18 percent. The report also found that growing earnings inequality has impacted young black college-educated men and women's wage deterioration more in the years since the Great Recession than during any other period.

“Education unquestionably en­hances mobility and increases wages, but what it does not do as effectively is eliminate racial disparities,” said Wilson. “More education means higher wages, but it does not mean equal wages between blacks and whites as they ascend that ladder.”

The report calls for several policy measures to address the wage gap, including consistently enforcing long-standing anti-discrimination laws in the hiring, promotion and pay of women and minorities; convening a summit to address why black college graduates start their careers at an earnings disadvantage; and raising the federal minimum wage.