On February 14, 2024, California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas introduced Senate Bill 1137 (“SB 1137”), a bill that would make California the first state to specifically recognize the concept of “intersectionality.” Smallwood-Cuevas has stated that SB 1137 “makes it clear that discrimination not only happens based on one protected class, such as race, gender or age, but any combination thereof.”
In The News
On March 12, the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and the Legislative Women’s Caucus partnered to host a screening of the documentary “Respect My Crown: The Rise of African American Women in California Politics.”
Meet us at the Elks Tower in Sacramento for POLITICO Live this morning. We’re hosting a health care conversation exploring the challenges of prescription drug affordability with Caitlin Berry, of pharmacy benefit management company Prime Therapeutics; Robin Feldman, UCSF law professor; Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California; and state Sen. Scott Wiener. How might officials find savings in the drug supply chain ecosystem?
A group of African American women state legislators gathered at the Crest Theater in Sacramento on March 13, many of them wearing tiaras.
On Feb. 21, the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) held a press conference at the state Capitol organized to introduce a package of reparations legislation the lawmakers call “a starting point” to atone for the state’s legacy of discrimination.
Over 50 years ago, Rep. Shirley Chisholm ran for U.S. president, refusing to let racism and sexism circumscribe her role in leading our country toward achieving its ideals.
By December, 73 out of 120 state legislators will have left the building in just two years.
As term limit reform kicks in, some critics have grumbled that this turnover is damaging, because we’re losing established leaders and decades of accumulated experience.
What’s being overlooked is the leadership and experience we’re gaining.
Senator Lola Smallwood- (D-Los Culver City) has released the following statement about her recent appointment by California Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire as the new Chairperson of the Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee: