You’re listening to 91.9 KVCR. And this is In Focus with Black Voice News, where we focus on stories you may have missed. I’m Nyla Glover.
In our first story, Black Voice News Reporter Alyssah Hall reports on the Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy or YVYLA. Since 2011, this organization has served over 200,000 community youth of San Bernardino County since 2001. Founder and CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy Terrance L. Stone, who also serves as President of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce High Desert Chapter and President of Terrance Stone School and Community Consulting, started this nonprofit to steer at-risk youth away from the path that took much away from his adolescence. YVYLA offers parenting classes for parents, workforce development classes for adults, conflict resolution, anger management, gang intervention and prevention programs, as well as drug and alcohol abuse programs for the youth.
In our next feature titled, Federal Decision to Eliminate SNAP Survey Will Impact CalFresh Benefits, reporter Anthonio Ray Harvey details how the United States Department of Agriculture or USDA has cancelled the annual food insecurity survey, which informs funding levels for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), calling it "redundant, politicized, and costly." The annual report, titled Household Food Security in the United States, used data from the Food Security Supplement (FSS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS) to track hunger trends across states and demographic groups. Without this survey, policymakers, researchers, and advocates lose a valuable tool for tracking hunger trends across states and demographic groups, effectively flying blind in assessing how many families struggle to put food on the table.
In another story titled Mapping Deportations: Tracing the Racist Origins of US Immigration Policy, BVN reporter Alyssah Hall introduces the work of Mapping Deportations. The initiative, created by three scholars from UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy and the Million Dollar Hoods Project, traces the racist origins of immigration laws and policies in the United States since 1895. The website shows that over 96% of deportation orders have been issued to people from predominantly non-white countries, and that Mexico and Central America have been in the lead with the highest number of deportation orders continuously since 1915. The researchers argue that racism has been baked into the immigration system since the antebellum period and has been reinvented since 1965.
Also this week, California Bans Law Enforcement From Wearing Face Coverings. California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the No Secret Police Act, prohibiting law enforcement officers from covering their faces with ski masks while performing their duties. The bill, which will take effect on January 1, 2026, includes exemptions for SWAT teams and other situations. The legislation is part of a package of bills aimed at establishing a standard of expectations to keep people safe against the Trump administration’s “immigration agenda.” The passage of these bills follows the Supreme Court’s recent ruling which lifted ICE restrictions in Los Angeles, allowing for the racial profiling of residents during immigration raids.
Finally, in this week’s Keeping it Real, titled Terrible Things are Happening Outside, Black Voice News executive editor S. E. Williams, comments on the recent federal government shutdown resulting from failed budget negotiations, with the main point of contention being the extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Failure to extend the subsidies will lead to increased out-of-pocket healthcare costs for millions of Americans, and the president’s aggressive and relentless pressure on blue states, such as California, requires state and local leadership to remain nimble and ready to respond. The president has threatened that the shutdown situation may lead to increased federal layoffs in these states.
To read these and other BVN stories in their entirety, please visit blackvoicenews.com. This segment and collaboration with KVCR is made possible with support from the Inland Empire Journalism Hub & Fund. Until next time, I’m Nyla Glover with Black Voice News.