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Op-eds

9/11: 20 Years of Reflection

By Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I awoke, as all Americans did, to the horrific scenes of our nation under attack and the surreal visual evidence unfolding live on national television. For baby boomers like myself and members of Gen-X, this was our Pearl Harbor.

The unfathomable had occurred: foreign terrorist had managed to attack Americans on American soil. Not only did they succeed in hijacking planes, they hijacked our national psyche, our emotions, and our lives, if only for a day.

Statement by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer on Recent Protests in Los Angeles

To all the communities in the struggle for equality and positive change across our country, I understand and know your anguish and anger.

My family has a legacy of involvement in the civil rights movement. My uncle was part of the Little Rock Nine who suffered immense racism because they were integrated into a white school in Arkansas in 1957.

Opinion: The Tragic Killing of George Floyd

It Only Takes One

George Floyd’s death at-the-hands of a Minneapolis police officer is one of many tragic deaths suffered by communities of color across the country on a regular basis. These acts are the results of systemic racism in our society and the failure to expose it and weed it out from institutions, organizations and places where authority has power to intimidate.

COVID-19 Exposes A Widening Digital Learning Gap

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has reported that over 15,000 students have not been heard from since the March 16 closure of schools due to coronavirus concerns. An estimated 40,000 additional students fail to check-in daily.

Even as LAUSD leaders have been working diligently to accommodate the needs of teachers and students as it transitions to an all-digital distance learning format – student access to technology and understanding its use remains an issue.

Focused on Public Safety

As the Chair of the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, I have been working with Governor Newsom and my colleagues in the legislature to ensure proactive measures are being taken to protect the health and well-being of the residents of the 59th Assembly District (AD) and that of all Californians.

iGeneration youth are saying “Enough is Enough” to gun violence and demanding real change!

For nearly twenty years our children have dealt with unprecedented gun violence in our schools and communities. No other generation has had to live with the fear of getting slaughtered at school, waking up to gun fire or ducking for cover in the middle of the night the way that Millennials and the iGeneration (iGen) have endured.