CA Corporations Will Have to Disclose Profits from Slavery: Assemblyman Isaac Bryan

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Sandra Wilson, a jazz giant, has left the building. I'm
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being joined this morning by the assembly person representing the
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55th District. That means Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Culver City, Ladera.
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and a whole bunch of other parts like Beverly Grove
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and Mid-Wilshire. He's the chair of the Committee on Natural
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Resources and IT Shows. And he has been a longtime
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activist before becoming a lawmaker and a scholar at UCLA.
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Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, good morning.
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Dominique, it's good to be back with you.
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The legislative session must be over because you're here.
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It ended 36 hours ago.
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And felt like, well, I don't know how you could,
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I guess I should ask you the question, how would
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you rate it? How would you rate this legislative session?
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It was my strongest year ever, which I think translates
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to it being community's strongest year in my representation. We
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fought all year long. We held it down. We brought
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some resources home. We've got 14 bills on the governor's desk,
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including defunding. direct cash payments for folks who live around
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the Inglewood oil field, building off of our work from
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two years ago when we passed legislation to close down
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that field by 2030 and force the oil company to
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pay into a repair fund. Now we're saying $ 5 million
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of that repair fund needs to go out to community
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to help heal some of the health impacts from living
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near it.
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Fourteen bills on the governor's desk, and we'll talk about
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SB 2599. To me, that's probably maybe the most, I'll say,
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important to me bill. I'm sure you have some other priorities.
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What are the odds these bills get signed?
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Very strongly. Last year, every single bill of mine except
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for one was signed, and we know the one that
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wasn't signed. but we've come to expect this governor to
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show up for me in the ways that I have
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shown up for him. And this being his last opportunity
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to show up for me, I expect he either signs
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all of them or damn near all of them.
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And so, you know, I flagged 2599 out of those
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14 because I want to spend some time on that one.
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What else are you most, you said this is your
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strongest year. What, what in that stack is, is giving
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you that feeling?
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I mean, it's a range. AB 1537 prohibits local law
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enforcement officers from moonlighting as ICE agents. You can't protect
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and serve our communities during the day and then terrorize
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and kidnap those same communities at night. But one that
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really hits me right in the chest, every year we
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try to have one or two bills that really touch people.
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It's hard to do that at the state level because
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the policies are so big. But you might remember last
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year we passed Waukesha's law.
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Yes, indeed.
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With Waukesha Wilson's family. And that really helped reconnect me
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to the ground and stay close to the work that
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has always carried me and where my heart always has been.
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This year, I have a piece of legislation that's similar.
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It's AB 1646, the HUG Act. It was written by
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incarcerated youth at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. They talked to
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me about this legislation back in December when I came
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inside to play basketball for Christmas. And they let me
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know that when their parents... come to visit them, they
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are not allowed to have any physical contact. And I
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think that's unconscionable that a 13-year-old boy can be in
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a solitary cell as mom comes to visit and she
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can't even give him a hug. And so we've passed
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this legislation. It's on the governor's desk. The county of
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Los Angeles has now piloted hugs in the juvenile halls
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because we introduced this legislation. And I've heard that there's
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a motion in the Board of Supervisors for September 15th
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to already implement this bill predicting the governor's signature.
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And, you know, to me, that's an awe, like, okay,
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a kid needs a hug. But also there's science to
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back this up, you know, that actually that human contact,
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especially with one of your parents, has positive impact on
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people's mental health. It's not just some frivolous thing.
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No, and the entire family. So it's really the mothers
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of these young boys.
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That need the hug, right?
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Yeah, and they came to Sacramento and they testified all
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year about it. I'll never forget this one mother, Amy.
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She went in for her son's birthday. She asked if
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she could give her son a hug on his birthday.
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Probation said no. She hugged him anyway. And then they
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took away her visitations for three weeks. And that's unconscionable.
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That's wrong. Those kinds of policies are rooted in harm
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and not healing. And we can do better. And so
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AB 1646 is a piece of legislation that inspires us
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to do and be better. But it's one of the
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few times I get to see the kids inside, their families,
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people who would directly be impacted by it. And it's
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the first piece of legislation that that we're aware of
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in California history, ridden by incarcerated youth while they were incarcerated.
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Wow, that's wild. I do think that it's got to be, well,
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assuming the governor will sign this, it's got to be
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a great feeling you could go back, you know, to
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that lockup and say, you guys, you know, we did this,
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we delivered.
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It's not that I could, it's that I will. I
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absolutely will.
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I'm sure you will. But I'm saying that because also
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to me, I hope that this would inspire more activism
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and involvement on the part of those young people when
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they get out or even when they're still incarcerated?
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Absolutely. It's no different than the hunger strikes that have
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changed the conditions of confinement for folks in prisons. It's
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always been the people who are closest to the problems
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that are closest to the solutions. And these young people
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feel these problems daily. They have a voice. They have agency.
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And now they're changing state laws. I couldn't be prouder
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of them. And I think when they come home, a
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lot of them are going to find other ways to
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improve the conditions of their community and be a positive
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difference in Los Angeles.
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I think that's right. Does it feel like it's connected
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to the work you did around getting better compensation for
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the incarcerated firefighters?
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Absolutely. I try to fight for people who don't always
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have a voice, and that's people who are struggling on
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the outside and definitely people on the inside. It's black, brown,
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poor and indigenous communities. It's people who haven't always had
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political representation or a seat at the table. I try
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to make sure that I'm building tables and bringing folks
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to it and reminding them of their power and their worth.
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And so all of this is connected and it makes
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me proud. It makes the community proud. And we just
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got to keep going.
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A couple things that definitely, if you don't mind, I
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want to touch on. Of course, I want to talk
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about the corporate disclosures around slavery. That's AB 2599. And
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I also, if you are interested in having this conversation,
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I want to talk about what happened with Leimert Park
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with the, I guess we'll call it a controversy around
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barrio athletics and the 5K run, which has now been
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moved to Elysian Park. I want to get your thoughts
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on that and any maybe inside info that you have.
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We'll look at that and more when we come forward.
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Assemblymember Isaac Bryan of the 55th is in the studio,
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and you're listening to KBLA Talk 1580. Assemblymember Isaac Bryan
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is here. So the past, I don't know, week and
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a half or so, a couple weeks, maybe a little longer.
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I was out of town for part of that. There's
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been this controversy about the proposed 5K run of Barrio Athletics,
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which is an organization I never knew anything about before.
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I guess they do fitness and walking and running, and
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they plan to meet up at the actual park of
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Leimert Park. A lot of people felt that it was
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a takeover. I think one young lady said it was
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a takeover in her video, and that probably didn't help.
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And folks were angry. And to some degree, I say,
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you know, really rightly so, because they didn't consult. They
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didn't set themselves up for success. And they were bringing,
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as Miles said, bringing their own party, their own DJ,
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their own juice and all that. So I guess now
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they have moved it to Elysian Park. They put out
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what I felt was a pretty... you know, sincere statement
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saying they were trying to respect the neighborhood. What do
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you think about that? What do you know about that?
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I think the decision to move it showed a lot
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of maturity. De-escalation is something you do when you love somebody.
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I think Barrio Athletics made a mistake. I think when
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you don't appreciate the history and significance and the culture
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of a specific location and you don't do that background
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work to make sure that you're building with the community
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who has built a space, it can feel like a takeover.
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It can feel hostile, especially in a city that has
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not welcomed black space, sought to erase black space, and
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is actively pushing out black folks. It felt like violence
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for many folks, and rightfully so. And I think Barrio
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Athletics has got that message and is not just moving
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this run, but looking to find ways to deepen the
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relationships and solidarity and find how they can add to
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the diaspora of South Central while also respecting it.
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Yeah, I can see that. I, you know, I feel
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like I'm glad they moved it. I think that was
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the right thing to do. I'm glad they put out
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the statement. And I'm very proud of our community for
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standing up for itself. What I push back on is
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the alarmist part, like, oh, it's a takeover. You know,
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it's a threat. I don't know. A bunch of people
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in jogging shorts running down Crenshaw doesn't feel like a
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threat to me, but maybe I am missing something because
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people have made a lot of points about this could
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be just them opening the door to be all up
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in our stuff all the time. Clearly, the fact that
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the guy... one of the guys didn't even know how
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to say Leimert Park is problematic. As far as what
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you are saying in terms of not understanding the very
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special place that Leimert has in Black L.A.
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It is the cultural epicenter of all that we are,
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all that we have been, and all that we hope
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to be. And I will fight to protect and preserve
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that black space as long as I have air in
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my lungs. But I think what happened here with Barrio
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Athletics was more rooted in a lack of knowledge, a
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lack of understanding that came off in a way that
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felt incredibly hostile. I don't think Barrio Athletics is the
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opening of a door to a giant conspiracy, but I
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do think that They unknowingly stepped in the weight of
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decades of exclusionary policies that have forced us into specific
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parts of this city where we created and built. And
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those same parts of the city we are actively being
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displaced and pushed out of. And we are fighting as
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hard as we can to protect them. And I don't
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know that it's fair to put the weight of all
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of that on Barrio Athletics, but I think it's completely
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understandable why folks felt this. And I think the leaders
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in Barrio Athletics are understanding that now they are doing
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their homework. They are working to try to build meaningful relationships.
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And I also want to be very clear. The suggestion
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of calling ICE on folks is also not who we
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are in any way, shape or form. If you know
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anything about the village, you know that's a space where
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we keep each other safe. We don't call the cops, period,
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including ICE, because it is one of the safest places
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in Los Angeles because we rooted in love and community,
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and we make it safe. And so that is not
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Leimert Park. That is not the village. And that is
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not the community that I live in and represent. And
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so I want to be very clear about that. Multiple
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mistakes have been made on multiple fronts. And I think
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now is the time for healing work and for the
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leaders to step in and lead.
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Actually, DW757, it was in the comments on several posts
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I saw, we're going to call ICE So I don't
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think any serious community leaders that I am aware of
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suggested calling ICE. But it was in the comments on
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social media. And there were, you know, stupid racist comments
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coming the other way, too. Absolutely. You know, calling us things. Absolutely.
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There's a lot of pain that... Honestly, settler colonialism and
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white supremacy policies that built this city, exploited our labor
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and contributions, and then claimed them for their own. All
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of that history is weighing on both black and brown communities.
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It's the reason we have been forced to share space
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because we have been excluded from other space. The downward
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economic pressure is something black and brown communities both feel.
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But if we are busy fighting each other, we are
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missing the folks who are actually oppressing us. And so
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we've got to stay organized. We've got to stay focused.
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We can have black space. We deserve black space. We
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must protect and defend black space. But also building meaningful black, brown,
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poor and indigenous solidarity is a worthwhile goal, not just
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for our own preservation, but for building a Los Angeles
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and a future that we all want to live in.
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DW, you're right. We don't know if those are real people.
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I said that those could be bots. They could be anyone.
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It could be Spencer Pratt and his mama's ginormous basement.
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We don't know. But the fact of the matter that
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that was in in the conversation is.
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Also, I want to give a shout out to the
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leaders in the village who have helped to deescalate and
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broker peace and dialogue. And I saw some comments by
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my brother, Six Sev, last night and others who are
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making it very clear that, you know, we were we
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were just raised differently in terms of thinking about what
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South Central can look like, should look like, who belongs.
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And all of that doesn't have to come at the
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expense of losing black space. These things are not in competition.
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So legislatively, what does that look like? Protecting black space, protecting,
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you know, stopping the push out because that feels real.
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And it seems like it's accelerated since 2020 as a member,
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as a person who lives in your district and has
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been in Crenshaw for many, many years. It seems like
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the push out has accelerated.
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So we established the first South LA historic cultural district
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in the state with Senator Smallwood Quavis just a couple
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of years ago to make sure that we prioritize investments
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and the cultural significance of our communities. We also have
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to fight for the kinds of policies that allow us
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to stay here. The rent is too high. We need
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to be aware of that. We've got to increase pathways
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into home ownership so that folks aren't just fighting to survive.
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We've got to increase wages because nobody should be working
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full time and still struggling to put food on their
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table and keep a roof over their head. We have
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to get rid of the environmental hazards near us, like
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the Inglewood oil field. We were pushed into places that
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other people didn't want to live. And now that we're
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making them thriving beds of culture and community, we are
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now being priced out of them. And that's unconscionable. That's wrong.
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So everything that I can do, I'm stepping up to do.
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We've also got to bring dollars back from the state
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and other levels of government into the community. We've also
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got to spend our dollars in the community and welcome
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others to our community. Everybody should visit should visit Leimert
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Park Village. Everybody should spend those dollars. With the street vendors,
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everybody should go to Napoli Naturals. Everybody should come and
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respect and appreciate what the space is. You can't come
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and try to take it over or reclaim it.
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When let's go back to the historical cultural district, because,
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you know, I've seen it, heard it, batted around. But
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what does it actually mean? Like, what does that do
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for us being designated as a historic cultural district?
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Yeah, you should definitely have Senator Smallwood Cuevas on to
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talk more about it. But it allows us to direct
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specific resources to this region. For as long as I
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can remember, folks have been wanting to carve out Leimert
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Park in particular as a special cultural district in the
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city of Los Angeles. We've gone a step bigger in
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taking care of all of South Central as its own
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historic cultural district. And there are a number of these
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throughout the state. We just didn't have a black one.
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And now we do.
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We didn't have any black one anywhere?
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There are parts of San Diego. There are parts of Oakland.
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This block.
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But, you know, black folks in California, the largest black
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population west of the Mississippi is here in Los Angeles.
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We needed our own. We deserved our own. We have
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our own.
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And, you know, those kinds of things sometimes kind of
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get biased because it seems like just, you know, talk
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or another thing. you know, slogan type thing. But that's
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why I wanted to ask you, are there, does it
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move dollars? Can it change the way that development happens?
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Yeah, it is definitely moving dollars to community and building
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coalitions and community bridges with those dollars from our small businesses,
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especially in building those networks out. The city still has
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authority over planning and land use development.
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Right, right.
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But it's working in collaboration and in concert with all
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levels of government to make sure that our communities have
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what they need. But I can assure you at the
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state level, I'm doing everything I can.
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I mean, this may be out of the blue, but
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as I drive up around Crenshaw, living here, all these
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buildings are going up. And every single one of them
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has lots of vacancies because they're too expensive. People can't
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afford to live there. I know that the city controls
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the buildings, but Is it time for the state to
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get into the housing business? Should that state be buying
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up some of these buildings, the county too, the city too,
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and making them affordable so that the people that work
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in South LA can continue to live in this super
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expensive city?
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I wish the state had the capacity to buy and
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manage properties like a landlord. I actually don't know that
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the government should be your landlord unless it's done properly.
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I think social housing has a lot of potential if
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done properly, but The state of California is still a
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few steps away before we're in that reality. I do
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think we should be forcing developers to build a specific
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number of affordable units and make sure that if you
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have state resources in a development project, that that also
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comes with the requirement that you build a project that
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people can actually live in. I also think we have
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to make sure that we cap rent increases so folks
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don't live one place one year, the rent jumps too
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high and they've got to find somewhere else to live.
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I've experienced a different location in Los Angeles seven years
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in a row because I felt like I was getting
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priced out of every single part of the city. At
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one point, I'm on 54th and Crenshaw and renting a
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house there is four grand a month. And I can
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see the marathon store where they killed Nip. But this
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house is a million dollars. I can only imagine that many,
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many others across the city feel that same pressure. And
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the idea of ever owning a home seems to get
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more and more elusive. And so we've got to make
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sure that these apartments are are built to be affordable,
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are maintained as affordable, but also increase pathways into homeownership.
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That's the only way that we're going to stay here.
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We've got to buy it. We've got to own it.
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We need more land trusts. We need more community cooperatives.
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And I'm interested in all of that. Yeah.
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Just a few seconds before news traffic and sports, then
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we'll talk $ 25. 99 on the other side. But, you know,
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that is one bit of good news. Leimert Park is
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much more Black-owned right now than it was 10 years ago.
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That's right.
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And, you know, I think that's an unusual trend as
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we see gentrification around the country. I don't know that
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that's happened in any other city. Assemblymember Isaac Bryan is here.
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I'm Dominique DiPrima, and you're listening to KBLA Talk 1580.
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Welcome back, indeed, to legislation. session is over. Our lawmaker
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for the 55th, which actually is over the station we're
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sitting in right now, is in the studio, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan.
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Let's talk about this. I feel like, for me, it's
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super important. Obviously, we talk about reparations every week here.
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But also, it seems to have caught fire in terms
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of people paying attention, which is quite incredible, too. I'm
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talking about AB 2599, slavery, corporate disclosures. Break down what
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this bill is.
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Yeah, we've had a lot of conversations about the public
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repair that needs to be done, the public investment that
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needs to be done to redress the harms of chattel slavery.
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What we haven't talked enough about and in some instances
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at all about is the private wealth that was generated
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off of our backs, off of slavery, and how that
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wealth has compounded through generations without any kind of accounting
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and certainly not any kind of repair. What AB 2599
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does is forces any company in California doing business in California,
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doing business with the state of California with over 100
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million in gross receipts to go through their archives, through
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their records and document and submit an affidavit to the
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state asserting their historic ties to chattel slavery under penalty
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of perjury. We deserve the truth. We deserve this kind
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of disclosure. And then that disclosure will be publicly available
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on the Department of Civil Rights website. And so we're
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going to build this out. We're going to build out
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this kind of accountability model. And then once we know
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this data and information, it's up to us to decide
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what that means and what we want to do with it.
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So basically creating, I mean, it seems almost like a
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companion to the California Reparations Task Force report. Here's a report.
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Here's what we recommend. Now here's data showing who profited
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privately and to what extent.
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Yeah, we know insurance companies use slaves to underwrite policies.
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We know banks gave loans out using slaves to underwrite policies.
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We know those who manufactured and created the products of slavery,
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derived wealth from that. We know those who are the
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owners of that human capital also owned private enterprises that
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then built, compounded and transferred wealth off of all of
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these actions. And we need to have an accounting of that.
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We also need to know which of the most egregious
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actors still receive contracts from the state and are still
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benefiting from public resources and public support. This kind of truth,
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this kind of disclosure is what the people of California deserve.
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And I believe this will be model legislation for the
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rest of the country.
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How hard was it to get this passed?
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I think anything that is for us, by us and
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about us is significantly harder to pass than anyone can imagine.
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But we are organized in Sacramento. We are committed. We
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are dedicated. We have been for years. And this is
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not the first time we've gotten to the finish line
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and put something important on the governor's desk.
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So we don't know. We don't know if he'll sign it.
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It just it does seem like what doesn't seem like
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it's obvious the governor has moved away from supportive reparations.
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But it's certainly and it's certainly become high profile. I mean,
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I can't believe how many articles. that I'm seeing in
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people talking about this. Are you optimistic that this will
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become law?
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I know that the governor may have sidestepped some serious
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reparations conversations last year when he vetoed five of the
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bills we put on his desk, including AB7, and we
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were incredibly frustrated and called him out about that. But
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I also know he's in South Carolina this morning meeting
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with black voters, right? The governor has an interest in
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still meeting the needs and demands of black people. What's
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special about AB 2599 is we don't seem to be
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divided this time. We all seem to be rowing the
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same direction. Our strength is in our solidarity.
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When you say we, are you talking about the legislature
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or are you talking.
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About the people? I'm talking about black folks. I'm talking
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about the legislature. I'm talking about the streets. I'm talking
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about the voters. I'm talking about the academics. I'm talking
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about us and all of the beautiful places and spaces
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that we occupy. When we fracture ourselves and we create
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opportunities to sidestep us and to miss us, they do.
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And in this moment on 2599, we all seem to
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be two feet in and ready to get this done.
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And I think that creates a different kind of pressure
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and it's necessary. Inside-outside strategy, that's how we get things done.
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What are some of the things that we're maybe not
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thinking about that could potentially come from the gathering of
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this kind of data?
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I think one of the most important things is once
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we know who the most egregious actors are and what
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that wealth looks like, we need to know, do they
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still do business with the state government, with county governments,
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with city governments? Are we still transferring our collective dollars
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to these companies? We also need to have a serious
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reckoning about the relationship between these companies and black folks.
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We already are getting back into our target boycott mode,
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and I hope some of us never went back.
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Never went back.
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You know, never went back. And we need to know
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our relationship to the exploitation of our labor and to
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the exploitation of our bodies. And I don't think that
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we do fully understand that. Even Myself, as a scholar
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with graduate degrees who works in public policy, I couldn't
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tell you all of the ways modern day companies have
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directly benefited and derived their foundational wealth from the actions
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of slavery. And I don't think many folks can because
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you're not supposed to. This kind of information has been
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hidden from us on purpose and in some instances destroyed
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on purpose. And so we need that public accounting. We
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need that truth and disclosure. And it's up to us
481
00:25:44.410 --> 00:25:47.400
as a community. state and the people to decide what
482
00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:48.839
that means and what we're gonna do about.
483
00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:53.420
It who is well Who is the pushback on this?
484
00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:57.819
The pushback is every major corporation with over a hundred
485
00:25:57.859 --> 00:25:59.799
million dollars in gross receipts, right? Yeah one who would
486
00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:03.349
be impacted by this legislation had an active interest in
487
00:26:03.430 --> 00:26:06.069
fighting it but like I said when we are organized
488
00:26:06.670 --> 00:26:09.470
from the streets to the halls of power to the
489
00:26:09.490 --> 00:26:12.589
classrooms to In our communities, that's when we can make
490
00:26:12.630 --> 00:26:14.690
meaningful change, and I think that's what we've done in
491
00:26:14.730 --> 00:26:17.150
putting this bill on the governor's desk, and I'm incredibly
492
00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:19.009
optimistic that he'll sign it. Yeah.
493
00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:21.519
When is the deadline for him to sign stuff or
494
00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:22.079
not sign it?
495
00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:24.119
He's got 30 days. He's got until the end of September,
496
00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:25.099
and the clock is ticking.
497
00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:28.000
The clock is ticking, just in case anybody wants to
498
00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:34.640
weigh in on anything. The... AB 2599, I know you
499
00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:40.240
put seven on last time. We didn't get it through.
500
00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:49.529
That was the one for colleges to give benefits to descendants, right?
501
00:26:51.690 --> 00:26:59.750
Looking back to, you know, the incident, the legislative session
502
00:26:59.769 --> 00:27:02.829
when everything sort of fell apart, the This is my perspective.
503
00:27:03.769 --> 00:27:05.890
Bills that we thought would end up on the governor's
504
00:27:05.930 --> 00:27:08.319
desk or end up on a floor vote didn't happen.
505
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:13.779
Do you think that enough progress has been made since then?
506
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:20.089
Do you feel like the reparations agenda is moving?
507
00:27:20.109 --> 00:27:24.230
Oh, absolutely. I think people forget what those bills did
508
00:27:24.289 --> 00:27:26.650
and didn't do. It's funny. People are like, you know,
509
00:27:28.089 --> 00:27:30.349
they killed reparations. There was no checks on the table
510
00:27:30.450 --> 00:27:33.890
in those bills. They were foundational to build up structures
511
00:27:33.930 --> 00:27:38.190
and institutions that will allow for a day where true
512
00:27:38.230 --> 00:27:41.980
repair can be made. We've established an agency. We've established
513
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.579
this infrastructure. That all happened last year. We're still continuing
514
00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:49.099
to move forward. Also, the reparations report has several dozen chapters.
515
00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:52.059
One of them, for example, is environmental reparations. That same
516
00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:56.799
year that those bills didn't move forward, the largest environmental
517
00:27:56.859 --> 00:28:00.930
reparations movement in black communities moved. took root in the
518
00:28:00.990 --> 00:28:03.549
shutdown of the Inglewood oil field and forcing that company
519
00:28:03.589 --> 00:28:05.789
to pay into a repair fund. Now that repair fund
520
00:28:06.210 --> 00:28:08.509
is going to have resources next year and there's already
521
00:28:08.549 --> 00:28:12.579
legislation to allocate those resources in direct cash payments. All
522
00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:15.500
of this comes directly derived from that report. We've got
523
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:19.759
to keep moving. My entire legislative agenda and reasons for
524
00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:22.799
organizing and ever getting active have to do with black repair,
525
00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:27.660
black opportunity building, and moving towards our collective future. And
526
00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:32.019
so that work doesn't stop. It's not a one, you know,
527
00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:36.170
liberation isn't a one-time event. And we got to keep working.
528
00:28:36.309 --> 00:28:39.250
Too bad. It's not, you know, liberational. We're done.
529
00:28:39.309 --> 00:28:40.990
Okay. Also, I don't want to take credit for that.
530
00:28:41.009 --> 00:28:42.599
That's Audre Lorde, but she was right.
531
00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:49.859
Um, so when we talk about that, some, there's some conversation,
532
00:28:49.900 --> 00:28:51.920
of course, you know, we talk a lot about reparations
533
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.759
and there's a lot of back and forth about whether
534
00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:56.839
a bureau or an agency is the same, um, and
535
00:28:56.900 --> 00:29:02.170
whether passing, um, the, the, the bill that was passed, um,
536
00:29:02.329 --> 00:29:07.769
is less, um, impactful than what we would have had, um,
537
00:29:08.549 --> 00:29:09.289
with a bureau.
538
00:29:10.009 --> 00:29:13.130
Yeah. One, you can't guarantee, as you've seen, that the
539
00:29:13.170 --> 00:29:17.390
governor would have signed anything. So start with that. Second
540
00:29:17.410 --> 00:29:19.920
of all, if you don't have solidarity inside and outside,
541
00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:23.799
our strength has already been diluted. But the people who
542
00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:26.240
get to write laws and pass laws are the legislators.
543
00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:30.839
And so deepening those relationships from top to bottom, inside
544
00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:32.500
and out, that's what we've got to do. And that's
545
00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:34.779
what I've been interested in for a number of years.
546
00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.680
Progress is an ongoing thing that you have to fight
547
00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:41.259
and struggle for. We still have to push. collectively to
548
00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:43.779
get the governor to appoint someone to head that bureau
549
00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:47.200
and get that person confirmed by the Senate. There's still
550
00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:49.880
work to do to capitalize on the infrastructure that's been built.
551
00:29:50.420 --> 00:29:54.559
So instead of having conversations about two years ago and
552
00:29:54.599 --> 00:29:56.339
whether you got the thing that you wanted the way
553
00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:58.769
that you wanted it, We should have conversations about how
554
00:29:58.829 --> 00:30:00.710
we get the things that we need the way that
555
00:30:00.730 --> 00:30:02.839
we need them going forward and right now.
556
00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:09.259
Yeah. Fahima's in the chat calling it another study. Is
557
00:30:09.299 --> 00:30:10.160
this another study?
558
00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:11.559
Is what another study?
559
00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:20.190
The Transparency Slavery Disclosure Act, AB 2599. Would you say
560
00:30:20.230 --> 00:30:21.069
it's another study?
561
00:30:21.569 --> 00:30:25.130
I think it's gathering information and data that we need.
562
00:30:25.690 --> 00:30:27.970
to understand our past and the way that it impacts
563
00:30:28.009 --> 00:30:30.470
the world today so that we can operationalize it to
564
00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:32.140
get the resources that we need and deserve.
565
00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:36.259
It is coming from corporations. It's not studying.
566
00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:39.160
I would ask that person to tell me what are
567
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:42.119
the 10 corporations that have generated the most wealth off
568
00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:44.250
of slavery that are operating here in California right now.
569
00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:46.710
And if you could name those top 10 corporations, tell
570
00:30:46.750 --> 00:30:48.930
me how much that wealth is and what the compounding
571
00:30:48.990 --> 00:30:51.630
value of it is today, then you're right. We don't
572
00:30:51.670 --> 00:30:53.690
need this data. We don't need this truth and disclosure.
573
00:30:53.910 --> 00:30:56.190
I promise you can't because that data doesn't exist because
574
00:30:56.210 --> 00:30:58.349
we have to compel it to exist. And that is
575
00:30:58.390 --> 00:30:59.690
what this legislation does.
576
00:31:00.130 --> 00:31:02.210
Do the corporations already have this information?
577
00:31:02.230 --> 00:31:03.980
Absolutely, they do.
578
00:31:04.359 --> 00:31:07.240
So this is not a burden of research. It's a
579
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:09.200
burden of discovery.
580
00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:12.940
And this legislation calls for it under penalty of perjury.
581
00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:15.859
So tell the truth. Tell us what you're holding. I
582
00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:18.799
have never created a new law that is a new crime.
583
00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:21.410
This is the first time. because I want it to
584
00:31:21.470 --> 00:31:23.369
be a crime for you to lie to us about this.
585
00:31:23.710 --> 00:31:25.759
A new crime, but it's a corporate crime.
586
00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:27.019
It's a corporate crime.
587
00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:32.880
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan is my guest, and we are talking
588
00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:36.619
California right now, but we've got a big election coming up,
589
00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:38.569
so when we come forward, perhaps you have thoughts on
590
00:31:38.589 --> 00:31:40.750
a few things. I don't know. I don't know if
591
00:31:40.769 --> 00:31:45.769
you want to share. You're listening to KBLA Talk 1580. Okay,
592
00:31:45.809 --> 00:31:48.309
Fahima correcting me. It wasn't her that called it a study.
593
00:31:48.349 --> 00:31:52.099
Somebody in the chat did. Assembly member Isaac Bryan is here. Uh,
594
00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:53.980
we just got a few minutes left. Thank you for
595
00:31:54.049 --> 00:31:58.970
coming in. Uh, you got 14 bills on the governor's desk.
596
00:31:59.190 --> 00:32:01.609
Is there any of those bills? Are there any of
597
00:32:01.650 --> 00:32:05.470
those bills that you are asking the community to show
598
00:32:05.589 --> 00:32:09.150
up and apply friendly, gentle pressure on?
599
00:32:10.970 --> 00:32:13.170
All of them. I mean, there are bills that improve
600
00:32:13.190 --> 00:32:14.970
the conditions of life for those who are struggling the
601
00:32:15.009 --> 00:32:18.769
most in California. Um, Everything that we did this year,
602
00:32:18.829 --> 00:32:20.750
as we've done every year, has been rooted in the people.
603
00:32:20.809 --> 00:32:23.009
But if there was one in particular, if you live
604
00:32:23.029 --> 00:32:27.690
in this neighborhood or anywhere near this neighborhood, it's AB 1661.
605
00:32:27.690 --> 00:32:31.539
That's the one that establishes kind of a universal basic
606
00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:34.160
income for people who live around the Englewood oil field.
607
00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:38.619
It is the largest environmental reparations push in South L.A. history.
608
00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:40.240
And we need to get this signed.
609
00:32:41.849 --> 00:32:44.029
Does that pressure help when we call, when we pick
610
00:32:44.069 --> 00:32:46.259
up the phone and call the governor? I know, you know,
611
00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:49.779
that it can make a difference on lawmakers in the,
612
00:32:49.859 --> 00:32:52.279
you know, assembly and in the Senate. But does that
613
00:32:53.299 --> 00:32:54.299
move the governor, do you think?
614
00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:58.630
I think everything moves everybody. Okay. You know, I think
615
00:32:58.670 --> 00:33:00.549
if you stay out and you sit down and you
616
00:33:00.589 --> 00:33:02.789
believe that you have no power, then you have no power.
617
00:33:02.829 --> 00:33:08.630
Yeah, right. Okay. And I see it's AB 1661 oil
618
00:33:08.670 --> 00:33:13.269
and gas, low production wells. These names, equitable community repair
619
00:33:13.289 --> 00:33:21.619
and reinvestment account. Where are we with the midterms for you?
620
00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:26.619
I mean, obviously, I'm assuming you support Becerra. You're a Democrat.
621
00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:28.500
He's a Democrat. Yeah.
622
00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:30.539
I mean, I supported Steyer in the primary. He's the
623
00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:32.680
only candidate who talked about reparations. He was the only
624
00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:37.230
one willing to come to Leimert Park. you know, has
625
00:33:37.269 --> 00:33:41.049
a long track record of investing in black organizations and
626
00:33:41.089 --> 00:33:43.549
black leadership development. And he was speaking the truth on
627
00:33:43.569 --> 00:33:46.529
a lot of things, including breaking up the utility monopolies
628
00:33:47.230 --> 00:33:51.200
and creating a prosperity economy for everybody. That being said,
629
00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:55.240
Steyer lost the primary and Becerra is the only Democrat left.
630
00:33:55.279 --> 00:33:58.440
So it's Becerra and Hilton. And even if you ignore
631
00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:02.720
the party affiliation, what Hilton is talking about is harm
632
00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:05.920
for our folks. He is talking about wealth transfers from
633
00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:09.119
the bottom to the top. He is talking about destroying
634
00:34:09.179 --> 00:34:12.550
our safety net and deepening our relationship with the federal
635
00:34:12.630 --> 00:34:15.150
government that has proven hostile, not just to California, but
636
00:34:15.190 --> 00:34:18.389
to Los Angeles and to black and brown folks specifically.
637
00:34:18.429 --> 00:34:20.510
We can't let Hilton become governor. And so I've got
638
00:34:20.530 --> 00:34:22.300
to step in and do what I can to support
639
00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:24.099
Javier Becerra.
640
00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:26.920
And where are you on the billionaire tax?
641
00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:29.019
I think billionaires have.
642
00:34:30.769 --> 00:34:34.449
Amassed a massive fortune of wealth. I think billionaires shouldn't exist.
643
00:34:34.570 --> 00:34:37.090
I think not only should we tax billionaires, but we
644
00:34:37.110 --> 00:34:40.800
should create the kind of economic infrastructure that prevents them
645
00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:46.340
from growing that wealth. I think the first trillionaire in
646
00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:50.239
world history on paper was Elon Musk this year. At
647
00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:53.960
the same time, folks are struggling without roofs over their
648
00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:56.800
head or food in their stomachs. In California, we have
649
00:34:56.840 --> 00:34:58.860
to do better, but as a country, we have to
650
00:34:58.920 --> 00:35:02.750
do better. This growing gap between those who have nothing
651
00:35:02.789 --> 00:35:04.789
and those who have more than they could ever spend
652
00:35:04.829 --> 00:35:08.630
in their entire lifetime or for several generations after them.
653
00:35:09.409 --> 00:35:09.929
It's wrong.
654
00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:14.840
When you say billionaires shouldn't exist, you're saying that level
655
00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:18.739
of amassing of wealth, not the individual persons, but just
656
00:35:18.780 --> 00:35:20.000
the concept of a billionaire.
657
00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:22.900
Absolutely. I think nobody should be able to exploit the
658
00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:25.579
labor of other people or derive the wealth that was
659
00:35:25.619 --> 00:35:28.570
generated by other people to such a degree that that
660
00:35:28.690 --> 00:35:32.110
they have a billion dollars. I don't think that should happen.
661
00:35:32.570 --> 00:35:36.119
That form of unchecked capitalism isn't good for anybody.
662
00:35:36.380 --> 00:35:39.539
I mean, it's almost like the definition of predatory capitalism.
663
00:35:40.280 --> 00:35:41.559
Plantation capitalism.
664
00:35:42.699 --> 00:35:45.860
Yeah. I'm looking at these bills. Are you trying to
665
00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:47.610
make Eid a state holiday?
666
00:35:47.630 --> 00:35:50.989
I am a co-author of that bill with my brother,
667
00:35:51.010 --> 00:35:53.030
Assemblymember Matt Haney. Absolutely.
668
00:35:53.429 --> 00:35:58.889
That's dope. you know, for our Muslim community? And why
669
00:35:59.210 --> 00:35:59.730
shouldn't it be?
670
00:35:59.969 --> 00:36:03.130
Yeah, so I'm the primary author of several pieces of legislation,
671
00:36:03.150 --> 00:36:05.869
but then I also co-author the legislation of my colleagues
672
00:36:05.889 --> 00:36:08.489
that I believe in. And I believe our Muslim community
673
00:36:08.530 --> 00:36:11.800
also needs to be seen, affirmed, and respected in the
674
00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:14.920
religious holidays that are celebrated at the end of Ramadan
675
00:36:14.940 --> 00:36:17.219
and throughout the year. We should acknowledge those the same
676
00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:20.469
way we acknowledge Lunar New Year and other holidays, Juneteenth, etc.
677
00:36:20.500 --> 00:36:24.380
And And we just got a couple minutes here, so
678
00:36:24.460 --> 00:36:26.599
I'm handing you the mic to talk about whatever you want.
679
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.000
But I'll give you this prompt in case you need one.
680
00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:31.699
What else are you tracking this election that we ought
681
00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:32.920
to be having eyes on?
682
00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:36.260
Vote no on Prop 39. Voting rights are on the ballot.
683
00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:40.250
They have tried to disenfranchise black and brown voters and
684
00:36:40.289 --> 00:36:43.389
poor voters all across the country. They started these voter
685
00:36:43.469 --> 00:36:47.929
ID laws nearly two decades ago across the South. And
686
00:36:47.989 --> 00:36:51.590
John Lewis, rest in peace, stood up. against them and
687
00:36:51.630 --> 00:36:54.190
the elders and those who fought in the civil rights
688
00:36:54.230 --> 00:36:57.230
movement and for voting rights. Reverend Lawson and others were
689
00:36:57.269 --> 00:37:00.909
very clear about how harmful these voter ID laws can
690
00:37:00.949 --> 00:37:03.530
and will be for us. Now in California, that same
691
00:37:03.650 --> 00:37:06.289
act is repeating itself and it is on our ballot.
692
00:37:06.329 --> 00:37:08.869
It is Proposition 39 and we have to stand against it.
693
00:37:08.889 --> 00:37:10.190
We have to fight against it. We have to make
694
00:37:10.210 --> 00:37:12.630
sure that everyone has access to the ballot, that it
695
00:37:12.690 --> 00:37:15.809
is easy to vote, that your vote is counted because
696
00:37:15.849 --> 00:37:18.389
democracy thrives when everybody gets to participate.
697
00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:20.940
Are we going to do you think it's going to
698
00:37:20.980 --> 00:37:24.489
be a whole disaster with this mail in voting ruling
699
00:37:24.530 --> 00:37:27.369
by the Supreme Court, the extreme court? And now, you know,
700
00:37:27.409 --> 00:37:31.969
the the post office even saying it's really not prepared
701
00:37:32.050 --> 00:37:35.469
to deal with whatever he might implement, try and implement
702
00:37:35.510 --> 00:37:37.690
the executive order. Is this going to hit California hard?
703
00:37:38.670 --> 00:37:41.969
I think that California is the most resilient state in
704
00:37:42.010 --> 00:37:45.340
the nation. I also think the hypocrites in Washington, D.C.
705
00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:48.210
can never keep us down. It's funny. the way that
706
00:37:48.230 --> 00:37:51.769
they've come after our electoral system and particularly mail-in voting
707
00:37:51.809 --> 00:37:53.730
when the president of the United States has mailed in
708
00:37:53.789 --> 00:37:58.210
his ballot every election since he's been in office. It's pathetic.
709
00:37:58.250 --> 00:38:01.579
What they don't like is when the people win in
710
00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:04.019
the elections because the people show up and have their
711
00:38:04.059 --> 00:38:07.420
voice heard and counted. And here in California, we make
712
00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:09.880
sure that every vote is counted. We don't care how
713
00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:11.519
long it takes. We want to make sure that you
714
00:38:11.579 --> 00:38:14.449
are heard and seen and get to participate in democracy.
715
00:38:14.469 --> 00:38:16.869
And that's the way democracy should be. So they can
716
00:38:16.909 --> 00:38:19.119
come at us all we want. But everything that we
717
00:38:19.159 --> 00:38:22.170
are doing is rooted in the Constitution. It is rooted
718
00:38:22.210 --> 00:38:25.730
in our values. It is rooted in good governance, good
719
00:38:25.769 --> 00:38:30.210
electoral fairness. And we have the most amazing Secretary of State,
720
00:38:30.250 --> 00:38:32.250
the first Black woman to ever be Secretary of State
721
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of California, and Shirley Weber. And she is on the
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front lines defending democracy here in California.
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Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, great to see you. Thank you for
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stopping by.
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Thank you for having me.
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All right, we are talking tech next, and there is
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a lot to talk about with the AI band and
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the LAUSD and more. Rashidi Jones of TechLimert is in
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the house. That's next after news, traffic, and sports. Only here.