00:00:05
Speaker 1: California says a school district was punishing black students more harshly than other kids. Now the state is stepping in. And Byron Daniels wants to be Florida's first black governor. But first, the Republican congressman has to convince more black voters to support him.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: I'm just going to be blunt. Stop moving like a monolith.
00:00:24
Speaker 1: And thousands of Amazon Prime customers are getting money back after paying full price for a service the city says they weren't actually getting. It's Monday, October 12th. From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Amy Brown. This is Front Page, and here are the day's biggest stories. Stay with me. California says a Sacramento area school district was disciplining black students and students with disabilities more harshly than other kids. And now the state is stepping in. The district is Natonomous United. The state looked at seven years of discipline records from 2018 through 2025, and here's what investigators found. Black students and students with disabilities were being sent for discipline at much higher rates, and when they got in trouble, they were more likely to receive the most serious punishment, being suspended from school or expelled altogether. And investigators found another problem. Some students, including kids as young as kindergarten, were suspended for something called willful defiance. That's things like refusing to follow directions or talking back. But California has restricted schools from suspending younger students for that. The state also says the district improperly gave some students confidential records to outside groups without getting permission from their parents. So now the district has agreed to make changes. For the next two years, it has to rewrite its discipline rules train staff every year, review expulsions, and hold sessions for parents explaining their rights. And California isn't just taking the district's word for it. The state will be watching to make sure those changes actually happen. Attorney General Rob Bonta says every child should have the same opportunity to succeed in school. The district cooperated with the investigation, and the state says some changes were already underway. And Florida Congressman Byron Donalds wants to make history. He's running to become Florida's first Black governor. But to do that, the Republican congressman is trying to win over more Black voters, including people who traditionally vote Democratic.
00:02:38
Speaker 2: The last thing I would say, especially, you know, here at FAM, but really across the board, I'm just going to be blunt. Stop moving like a monolith. Black people have since 1963-ish, black people have largely supported the Democrat Party. Have they actually followed through with what they said? Have they actually done all the things that they've promised? You've been faithful to that party. Have they been faithful to you? I think for black people in particular, I think us making our own political decisions is more important today than it ever has been. Because as a Republican, I'm not telling you, I'm asking you to vote for me because I'm talking about policy. I think everybody should be making those decisions based upon the research that they have done, not because they see what is happening through the black community.
00:03:33
Speaker 1: Donald is a close ally of President Trump. In fact, during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump often sent Donald out to make the Republican Party's case to Black voters. Now Donald is making that case for himself. His campaign has been meeting with Black businesses and community leaders and planning ads specifically aimed at Black audiences. He's also picked up endorsements from some Black leaders, including two Democratic officials who crossed party lines to support him. Donald says his message is simple. He wants everybody's vote.
00:04:07
Speaker 2: And, you know, for me, I've been involved now 16 years in politics. I've heard the same promises year after year after year after year after year. I would ask Black people in Florida, Black people in America, have they delivered? That's a question for people to think about when they go home.
00:04:25
Speaker 1: But he's getting pushback. Some Black leaders point to Donald's opposition to federal voting rights legislation. Others point to comments he made about Jim Crow era. Donald said black families were together during that period and voted more conservatively. Critics said he appears to be talking positively about black Americans during segregation. Donald says that's not what he meant and that his words were taken out of context. There's also immigration. Florida has one of the country's largest Haitian communities. And Donald has defended the Trump administration's decision to end TPS status, Temporary Protected Status, for Haitians, a program that allowed some Haitian immigrants to legally live and work in the United States because returning to Haiti was considered unsafe. Election Day in Florida is November 3rd. And thousands of Amazon Prime customers in Washington, D.C. are getting some of their money back, and here's why. People pay for Prime for several benefits, but one of the biggest is fast delivery. But D.C. 's attorney general says customers in two predominantly black neighborhoods were paying the full price membership without getting the same delivery service as customers in other parts of the city. This happened in two zip codes east of the Anacostia River, 20019 and 2020. Amazon stopped using its own delivery drivers there. Instead, packages were handed off to UPS and the Postal Service. And according to the city, that made delivery slower. But here's the problem. Customers were not told about the change. They continued paying the same prime membership fee for nearly four years. And now Amazon has agreed to pay $ 8. 2 million to settle the case. Most of that money, $ 7. 25 million, will go back to customers. About 69,000 people are expected to receive refunds. The remaining $ 1 million goes to the city as a penalty. Amazon says there's another side to this. The company says it stopped using its own deliveries in those neighborhoods because of safety concerns. And Amazon says settling the case does not mean it admits any wrongdoing. But DC's attorney general says the issue isn't simply that Amazon changed how packages were delivered, it's that customers weren't told they weren't getting different services while still paying the same price. And now they're getting some of that money back. That's your Front Page. I'm Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to you by the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Speaker 1: California says a school district was punishing black students more harshly than other kids. Now the state is stepping in. And Byron Daniels wants to be Florida's first black governor. But first, the Republican congressman has to convince more black voters to support him.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: I'm just going to be blunt. Stop moving like a monolith.
00:00:24
Speaker 1: And thousands of Amazon Prime customers are getting money back after paying full price for a service the city says they weren't actually getting. It's Monday, October 12th. From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Amy Brown. This is Front Page, and here are the day's biggest stories. Stay with me. California says a Sacramento area school district was disciplining black students and students with disabilities more harshly than other kids. And now the state is stepping in. The district is Natonomous United. The state looked at seven years of discipline records from 2018 through 2025, and here's what investigators found. Black students and students with disabilities were being sent for discipline at much higher rates, and when they got in trouble, they were more likely to receive the most serious punishment, being suspended from school or expelled altogether. And investigators found another problem. Some students, including kids as young as kindergarten, were suspended for something called willful defiance. That's things like refusing to follow directions or talking back. But California has restricted schools from suspending younger students for that. The state also says the district improperly gave some students confidential records to outside groups without getting permission from their parents. So now the district has agreed to make changes. For the next two years, it has to rewrite its discipline rules train staff every year, review expulsions, and hold sessions for parents explaining their rights. And California isn't just taking the district's word for it. The state will be watching to make sure those changes actually happen. Attorney General Rob Bonta says every child should have the same opportunity to succeed in school. The district cooperated with the investigation, and the state says some changes were already underway. And Florida Congressman Byron Donalds wants to make history. He's running to become Florida's first Black governor. But to do that, the Republican congressman is trying to win over more Black voters, including people who traditionally vote Democratic.
00:02:38
Speaker 2: The last thing I would say, especially, you know, here at FAM, but really across the board, I'm just going to be blunt. Stop moving like a monolith. Black people have since 1963-ish, black people have largely supported the Democrat Party. Have they actually followed through with what they said? Have they actually done all the things that they've promised? You've been faithful to that party. Have they been faithful to you? I think for black people in particular, I think us making our own political decisions is more important today than it ever has been. Because as a Republican, I'm not telling you, I'm asking you to vote for me because I'm talking about policy. I think everybody should be making those decisions based upon the research that they have done, not because they see what is happening through the black community.
00:03:33
Speaker 1: Donald is a close ally of President Trump. In fact, during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump often sent Donald out to make the Republican Party's case to Black voters. Now Donald is making that case for himself. His campaign has been meeting with Black businesses and community leaders and planning ads specifically aimed at Black audiences. He's also picked up endorsements from some Black leaders, including two Democratic officials who crossed party lines to support him. Donald says his message is simple. He wants everybody's vote.
00:04:07
Speaker 2: And, you know, for me, I've been involved now 16 years in politics. I've heard the same promises year after year after year after year after year. I would ask Black people in Florida, Black people in America, have they delivered? That's a question for people to think about when they go home.
00:04:25
Speaker 1: But he's getting pushback. Some Black leaders point to Donald's opposition to federal voting rights legislation. Others point to comments he made about Jim Crow era. Donald said black families were together during that period and voted more conservatively. Critics said he appears to be talking positively about black Americans during segregation. Donald says that's not what he meant and that his words were taken out of context. There's also immigration. Florida has one of the country's largest Haitian communities. And Donald has defended the Trump administration's decision to end TPS status, Temporary Protected Status, for Haitians, a program that allowed some Haitian immigrants to legally live and work in the United States because returning to Haiti was considered unsafe. Election Day in Florida is November 3rd. And thousands of Amazon Prime customers in Washington, D.C. are getting some of their money back, and here's why. People pay for Prime for several benefits, but one of the biggest is fast delivery. But D.C. 's attorney general says customers in two predominantly black neighborhoods were paying the full price membership without getting the same delivery service as customers in other parts of the city. This happened in two zip codes east of the Anacostia River, 20019 and 2020. Amazon stopped using its own delivery drivers there. Instead, packages were handed off to UPS and the Postal Service. And according to the city, that made delivery slower. But here's the problem. Customers were not told about the change. They continued paying the same prime membership fee for nearly four years. And now Amazon has agreed to pay $ 8. 2 million to settle the case. Most of that money, $ 7. 25 million, will go back to customers. About 69,000 people are expected to receive refunds. The remaining $ 1 million goes to the city as a penalty. Amazon says there's another side to this. The company says it stopped using its own deliveries in those neighborhoods because of safety concerns. And Amazon says settling the case does not mean it admits any wrongdoing. But DC's attorney general says the issue isn't simply that Amazon changed how packages were delivered, it's that customers weren't told they weren't getting different services while still paying the same price. And now they're getting some of that money back. That's your Front Page. I'm Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to you by the Black Effect Podcast Network.
