Proposed citizenship question turns Census into civil rights issue Inaccurate tally could affect minority communities, election results

by Lindajoy Fenley

Ethnic minority organizations are vowing to do everything possible to encourage an accurate census count in the face of what they called a Trump Administration plan to solidify conservative Republican power with a distorted tally.

“The 2020 Census is one of the most urgent civil rights issues facing America,” said moderator Beth Lynk of the Leadership Conference Education Fund in opening an Ethnic Media Services press conference by telephone that featured speakers for five organizations. read more

Chico’s “undocumented” attorney earns U.S. citizenship Sergio Garcia says family-based migration is crucial

photo by Karen Laslo
Salvador Covarrubias (left) brought his young son Sergio Garcia to Chico, knowing that the boy would qualify for residency.

by Leslie Layton

It took Sergio C. Garcia longer to become a U.S. citizen than it took for his native country, Mexico, to win independence from Spain.

It took longer than it took for him to win the right to practice law, becoming the nation’s first, so-called undocumented attorney.

Garcia will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen in a ceremony today in Sacramento – the end of a journey that began in 1994 when he was brought to the country as a teen who knew even then that if he was going to live in the United States, he wanted to belong as a participating citizen. read more

Protesters oppose policy that hurts children People line the Skyway to call for migrant family unification

photo by Leslie Layton

by Leslie Layton

Almost 50 people showed up for a protest Thursday in Paradise to oppose the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of the people passing by on the Skyway honked in support of the protesters.

“I never thought I would be a person outside with a sign,” said one of the organizers, John Tackitt (pictured above behind the banner.) “But even if it’s just doing a little something, it’s something.” read more

From Africa to Inglewood to Chico State Senior from Nigeria overcomes challenges

Krystle Tonga with Samuel Akinwande

by Nicte Hernandez

Although he’s dealt with typical challenges that come with being the first person in his family to attend a university, Samuel Akinwande’s route to Chico State was far from typical.

Akinwande was born and raised in Nigeria, moving at age 11 to Inglewood, where education took a backseat to everyday worry about simply making it home alive after a day’s schooling.

“We had no help in high school when pursuing higher education,” Akinwande said. “Our counselors literally gave us our transcripts and said figure it out. That’s it.” read more

A newly-elected president, a new beginning CSUC graduate says AMLO is a "beacon of hope"

CSUC 2018 grad Floritzel Salvador

by Floritzel Salvador

Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has officially won the presidency with 53.5 percent of the national vote. This is a new and hopeful beginning for Mexico, and AMLO is a beacon of hope for someone like me.

Mexico is a country that has been plagued with brutal murders, disappearances and extremely low wages, and these conditions have forced many Mexican citizens to flee and cross the U.S. border.

I am currently in my home state of Oaxaca, Mexico, a beautiful state that is rich in culture and tourism. Yet, it continues to be one of the poorest states in all of Mexico. In Oaxaca, teachers who have been killed and brutally tortured have made international news, indigenous communities that should be valued and cared for have been forgotten. read more

Paradise protesters call for an end to family separations at border

photo by Jeremy Tackitt

Some 50 people gathered Thursday in Paradise to protest the separation of children from their migrant parents on the U.S.-Mexico border. They'll reconvene at 5 p.m. Monday at Pearson and Skyway to call for family reunification. Such protests are spreading across the nation.