The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) is urging film studios to address the recent departure of Black female executives from their organizations. The sudden exodus of Vernā Myers from Netflix, LaTondra Newton from Disney, Jeanell English from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Karen Horne and Terra Potts from Warner Bros. Discovery has raised concerns about the commitment of the film and television industry to diversity in leadership positions.
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In a press conference Thursday morning, the California Legislative Black Caucus demanded answers from Hollywood studios about the exodus of several Black female Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) executives, which the group described as “a troubling pattern.”
California lawmakers on Thursday said the departures of high-profile Black female executives in Hollywood are a “troubling pattern,” especially because the state has extended its film and television tax credits.
A group of state legislators representing the California Legislative Black Caucus are calling on film studios to meet with them regarding the sudden removal of Black female executives over the past few weeks.
In his Crenshaw neighborhood, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) passes liquor store after liquor store, while fresh fruit and produce are hard to find.
The State Legislature today passed Senate Bill 150 that requires equitable hiring for billions of dollars of federal infrastructure projects headed to California in the coming years. Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), who co-authored SB 150, led the effort to include equity language in the package of infrastructure bills to create quality job opportunities for California’s workers from underserved communities.
It was in 1966 that Yvonne Braithwaite Burke made history as the first Black woman elected to serve in the California State Assembly. In the next three decades to follow, just seven—including Maxine Waters, Diane Watson and Barbara Lee would follow. And while it is important to note that these women were not only the first Black women to be elected to the California State Assembly, but also some of the first Black women to hold elected office in the United States, progress was slow.
On Wednesday, June 21 at 10 a.m., State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond will convene a hearing of his special task force at the State Capitol to examine inclusive content offered to California students by textbook publishers. Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) will co-chair the task force with Thurmond.