By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

On March 2, over 200 leaders from government, philanthropy and community organizations convened in Los Angeles this week for a major summit aimed at addressing poverty, housing instability and economic inequality across the city.

Hosted by the City’s Community Investment for Families Department, the 2026 “Making LA Affordable for All: A Summit on Equity, Access, and Economic Stability” focused on advancing coordinated solutions for the more than 600,000 Angelenos currently living in poverty.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who headlined the event, emphasized the need for a unified approach to interconnected challenges such as housing, food insecurity and widening wealth gaps.

“For too long, poverty has limited opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Angelenos,” Bass said. “Housing instability, food insecurity and widening wealth gaps are interconnected, and our response must be just as connected.”

City officials described the summit as a pivotal moment in shaping long-term policy and programmatic responses. Abigail R. Marquez said the gathering builds on the city’s 2024 Poverty Report, shifting the focus from analysis to action.

“The Summit represents a critical turning point in how we confront poverty in Los Angeles,” Marquez said. “We are bringing together leaders not just to discuss the data, but to act on it.”

Discussions centered on policy reform, homelessness prevention, tenant protections and expanding access to living-wage jobs. As part of a broader restructuring effort, Mayor Bass has directed multiple agencies, including youth development and aging and workforce departments, to align under a unified Community Investment Department aimed at improving service delivery.

City leaders also highlighted recent efforts to expand affordability and prevent displacement.

Under Bass, Los Angeles has moved to accelerate affordable housing production through streamlined approvals, with more than 30,000 units currently in development. The city has also advanced plans to convert underused office buildings and hotels into housing.

Tenant protections have been strengthened through updates to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance—the first major revision in nearly four decades—now covering more than 600,000 rent-stabilized units.

Efforts to prevent homelessness have also expanded. Through coordinated eviction defense programs and FamilySource Centers, the city reports assisting 88,000 households, with nearly three-quarters achieving improved housing stability.

Officials pointed to economic initiatives as another pillar of the city’s strategy. Programs such as free tax preparation services have generated tens of millions of dollars in economic impact for low-income families, while targeted rental assistance and direct cash aid have supported seniors, people with disabilities and immigrant households.

Organizers said the summit reflects Los Angeles’ broader commitment to a comprehensive, cross-sector approach—one that combines housing, economic mobility and social services—to make the city more affordable and equitable in the years ahead.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at [email protected] and on twitter at @LVBurke

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A new global media platform dedicated entirely to civil rights programming has officially launched, marking a significant expansion in how the history and future of social justice are told and preserved.

Civil Rights TV, billed as the world’s first 24-hour television network devoted exclusively to civil rights history, education and equity, is now streaming on the Connect To Your City OTT platform, powered by Connect2OTT.

The network debuted from Selma—a city widely regarded as a cornerstone of the American Civil Rights Movement—symbolizing a bridge between historic struggles and modern storytelling. The launch aims to create a continuous, global conversation around civil rights issues, both past and present.

Civil Rights TV offers round-the-clock programming that includes documentaries, live discussions, news analysis, educational content and cultural storytelling. Organizers say the network is designed to function not only as a digital archive of civil rights history but also as a living platform addressing contemporary challenges.

The effort is backed in part by technology entrepreneur Larry Witherspoon, whose streaming infrastructure has helped bring the network to a global audience. Through Connect2OTT’s platform, Civil Rights TV joins a network of more than 250 live television and radio channels reaching viewers in over 190 countries.

The launch comes at a moment when technology — and access to it — is increasingly viewed through a civil rights lens. As artificial intelligence and digital platforms reshape how information is distributed and consumed, disparities in access to reliable content and infrastructure have become more pronounced.

Civil Rights TV’s creators say the network’s broadcast-efficient OTT architecture is designed to address some of those concerns by reducing bandwidth usage and energy demands while maintaining continuous global streaming.

Beyond its technical ambitions, the network also signals a renewed emphasis on preserving civil rights history through trusted sources. Organizers say Civil Rights TV will rely heavily on the Black Press, long considered one of the most comprehensive archives of Black history and civil rights reporting, to inform its coverage and ensure historical accuracy.

By combining archival depth with modern distribution, Civil Rights TV positions itself as both a historical repository and a forward-looking platform — one intended to shape how civil rights stories are told in the digital and AI-driven era.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at [email protected] and on twitter at @LVBurke

By Lauren Burke

Representative Maxine Waters, the veteran California Democrat and longtime standard-bearer of congressional leadership, received the National Council of Negro Women’s highest honor on December 5.

At the organization’s 90th annual gala in Washington DC, Rep. Waters was presented with the Uncommon Height Crystal Stair Award, named after Dr. Dorothy Height, the legendary civil rights leader who led the council for more than four decades. The honor recognized not only Waters’s decades in public office but her role as one of Washington’s most unyielding critics of inequality, corporate power and political retrenchment on civil rights.

In her acceptance speech, the California Congresswoman framed the moment as a continuation of unfinished work. She reflected on Dr. Height’s place among the “Big Six” leaders of the civil rights movement during the 60s and praised her ability to build institutions as well as movements. The work has extended far beyond marches to include policy change.

“Dr. Height did more than protest injustice,” Waters said on Dec. 6. “She built something that would last.”

Congresswoman Waters, 87, has made a career of combining activism with power. First elected to Congress in 1990, she is now the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and previously served as its chair. She was the first Black woman to lead the powerful panel. From that position, she shaped debates over banking regulation, housing policy and economic inequality, often pressing institutions she argued were insulated from accountability. As chair during the Trump administration, Ms. Waters became a central figure in congressional oversight of Wall Street and the federal government’s financial apparatus.

Congresswoman Waters used her gavel to scrutinize major banks, defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against efforts to weaken it, and press federal agencies to enforce fair housing and lending laws. She was also a leading voice in imposing financial sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, arguing that economic tools were essential to global accountability.

Over three decades in office, Ms. Waters has been a consistent advocate for affordable housing, consumer protections, pay equity and racial justice. She played a key role in shaping housing provisions in pandemic-era relief legislation and has long argued that economic policy is inseparable from civil rights.

Her remarks on Saturday night took on a sharper political edge as she turned from history to the present day. Waters condemned attacks on diversity initiatives, voting rights and public education. Such policies, she said, amounted to an assault on Black families themselves — the very communities Dr. Height sought to strengthen through initiatives like the National Black Family Reunion, which the two women once organized together in Los Angeles.

“Dr. Height taught us how to fight moments like this,” Ms. Waters said. “She would not wait. She would act.”

Waters’ words reflected a consistent theme: Confrontation as a moral obligation. Revered by supporters for her fearlessness and criticized by opponents for her bluntness, she has remained unapologetic about using her platform to challenge presidents, corporations and colleagues alike.

“As long as I have a voice and a vote,” Ms. Waters said, “I will continue to march, build and fight.”

The National Council of Negro Women created an evening that served as a bridge between generations by honoring a living lawmaker whose career has been shaped by the movement’s pioneers, and who continues to argue that their lessons are as urgent now more than ever.

By Lauren Burke

Congressman Marc Veasey will not seek re-election for his congressional seat in Texas. Rep. Veasey has served in Congress since 2013.

The partisan redistricting purge has now impacted all three Black members of the Texas congressional delegation. On December 8, Rep. Jasmine Crockett announced she would run for U.S. Senate. The map changes have also forced competition between Black lawmakers on the state and federal level and decreased federal representation for Black communities in Texas.

Texas is now majority Hispanic. Hispanics make up 40 percent of the population. Whites make up 39 percent of the population and Blacks make up 14 percent. Though Texas is becoming increasingly diverse, political representation in the state does not reflect the racial diversity because of gerrymandering.

Rep. Veasey’s Dallas-area congressional seat was changed after a round of partisan congressional map moves by Texas Republicans in August. The GOP actions came after President Donald Trump signaled to Texas Republicans that he wanted more GOP seats. The strategy was made clear: Alter congressional maps so Republicans can maintain control of the U.S. House and win the midterm elections in 2026. But Democrats in California and Virginia are countering the move.

Rep. Veasey will now run for Tarrant County judge, according to several news reports.

On December 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the new racially gerrymandered maps recently created by Texas Republicans could go forward and be used for the 2026 elections.

Marc Veasey has represented Texas’s 33rd Congressional District in Congress for 12 years. Rep. Veasey’s district includes Fort Worth and parts of Dallas. While in Congress, Veasey has been a leading voice on voting rights, economic equity, healthcare access, and expanding digital infrastructure. He has played a prominent role in national discussions on technology and opportunity, including efforts to close the digital divide.

Veasey has also served in leadership within the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The congressional primaries in Texas are March 3, 2026.

By Lauren Burke

“We need to stop all the hell that is reigning down on all of our people,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett from a Dallas stage to a cheering standing-room-only crowd.

On December 8, Rep. Crockett, who has built a reputation as a firebrand in Congress in the fight against Trump’s MAGA Republicanism, announced she would run for the U.S. Senate in 2026.

Rep. Crockett will be competing to take on veteran Republican Senator John Cornyn, but there is also a competitive primary. Regardless, Rep. Crockett is likely to be viewed as the frontrunner.

Additionally, nationally known Pastor Dr. Frederick Haynes III, of Friendship West Baptist Church, who introduced Rep. Crockett, will also be running for Congress in 2026. Rev. Haynes has filed to run to be the Democratic nominee in Texas’ 30th congressional district — Crockett’s old district, though redrawn.

In another development, former Congressman Colin Allred announced he is dropping out of the race for U.S. Senate to run in the 33rd congressional U.S. House seat in Texas.

There’s no surprise there’s a flood of political news out of Texas because the filing deadlines for congressional races to be decided by voters in November of 2026 are this week. Last week’s decision by the Republican controlled U.S. Supreme Court in favor of the congressional maps drawn by Texas Republicans in August of this year also reset the deck chairs in Texas politics.

“We need a fighter today in light of what’s happening in Washington DC. In light of what’s happening in Austin. We need someone who ain’t scared — we need someone who is ready to fight,” Rev. Haynes told the crowd as he introduced Crockett to the stage in front of a packed room.

A video played beginning with the voice of President Donald Trump making several negative statements about the Congresswoman with the image of a Crockett in profile and then looking straight on into the camera. The Texas Congressman and former prosecutor has never strayed from direct political confrontation with Trump during her time in Congress. She has often won his negative attention.

“There is a responsibility that lies with all of us — especially in this moment,” Congresswoman Crockett started as she took the stage standing at a podium with the words “CROCKETT TEXAS TOUGH” on it.

“There are those who say ain’t no way we tried it 50 kinds of ways — let me be clear y’all have never tried it the JC way,” Crockett confidently told the audience. She also focused on her consistent and energetic pushback on President Trump and his agenda.

The congressional primaries in Texas are March 3, 2026.

By Lauren Burke

On December 4, during a White House cabinet meeting, President Trump launched into a hateful, racist rant against Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

“Those Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her – she’s always talking about ‘the constitution provides me with uhhhh,’” Trump ranted, speaking of Congresswoman Omar.

Trump has targeted Rep. Omar and other members of Congress’s “Squad” before and during his first term in office. Those attacks by Trump included Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Many political observers wonder if Trump’s latest rant was a strategy to deflect from bad economic news. Either way, Trump’s latest racist tirade isn’t new.

Rep. Omar’s family fled Somalia during a war and then earned asylum in the U.S. in 1995. She became a U.S. citizen at age 17 and has represented Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019.

In 2019, Trump said that the congressional group nicknamed “the squad” should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” During his 2024 campaign for the White House, Trump made anti-immigration rants a predictable part of his campaign rallies.

The Congressional Black Caucus responded to the latest attacks by Trump and other Republicans in an era of brazen anti-Blackness.

“From the recently leaked texts of Republican officials using the n-word and praising Hitler to President Trump’s comments in the Cabinet Room, it’s beyond clear that the Republican Party’s racism truly knows no bounds,” wrote the Congressional Black Caucus in a press release in defense of Rep. Omar on December 4.

The attacks heighten the tension of national political discourse. The level of political vitriol would appear to have real-world applications. Great Britain’s paper The Independent exclusively reported on Dec. 8, a serious threat to Rep. Omar. The Congresswoman has had to add personal security to her team in recent years.

“A 30-year-old Florida man is facing up to a half-decade in federal prison after confessing to posting violent threats on social media that promised to decapitate Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, murder her ‘monkey children,’ then eat the kids ‘for protein,’ according to plea agreement papers reviewed by The Independent,” the Dec. 8 post by the newspaper relayed. The news arrived days after Trump’s attacks, though the matter appeared to be related to comments the Congresswoman may have made after the murder of Charlie Kirk.

The latest attack on Rep. Omar is only one of a series of pressures on the Congressional Black Caucus. Several members are now facing challenges to their power as several members are facing sudden redistricting changes in states with Republican Governors. These include Missouri, Texas, and Indiana.

In August, Texas Republicans began the back-and-forth onslaught that became the current partisan redistricting fight. California answered the call by passing a ballot initiative that will likely lead to the elimination of several GOP congressional seats. In Virginia, there is open talk by Democrats of altering the congressional delegation in a way that could produce ten Democrats in the Virginia delegation out of eleven.

Several members of the CBC, including Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Al Green (D-TX), Andre Carson (D-IN), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), and Marc Veasey (D-TX) are dealing with the special challenge of chasing district lines for partisan reasons.

Rep. Crockett was drawn out of her own district during the GOP-driven map redraw in Texas. On the evening of December 8, Crockett announced she would be running against Republican Senator John Cornyn for U.S. Senate in 2026.

The race was forced in part by the onslaught of redistricting fights that are likely to get more complicated in the early part of next year.