By Kenneth Miller, Special to California Black Media Partners
In a few weeks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the world will be watching history as Kamala Harris steps into her own as Standard Bearer of the Party.
Somewhere amid all of the blowing horns, balloons and wacky outfits will be California’s own political powerbroker and “Master Queen” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), arguably the most powerful Black elected official in America right now.
For more than 40 years — 33 of them serving in the United States House of Representatives — “Auntie Maxine” as she is affectionately called by her admirers, has proved her might and her mettle.
She has successfully advocated for $10 billion in funding for Section 8 housing and secured $50 million in funding for Youth Fair Chance, $400 million for Minority Aids Funding and $6 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization.
She is always there at the forefront fighting for what is best for the communities she serves.
In our divided political universe today, many of us are constantly presented with the argument in our content feeds across digital platforms that our system of governance is fixed and failing us, and our elected officials are out of touch and, therefore, there is no reason to vote. Buying into this notion plays into the hands of powerful political interests, some of whom are the philosophical heirs of those who denied Blacks voting rights to begin with.
That is why leadership is paramount – real leadership, trusted, courageous and reliable, that is demonstrated by the actions and deeds of those we elect to serve.
Such was the case when Waters learned California Gov. Gavin Newsom released his state budget without any funding for the Martin Luther King Community Hospital (MLKCH) in South Los Angeles which was on the brink of closing yet again.
Fumed, Waters encountered Newsom at an event and cornered him about the MLKCH dilemma. In a letter sent to Newsom, Waters appealed; “I call on you as the Governor of the Great State of California to reverse your decision of 2022 and immediately support legislation that will adjust MLKCH’s supplemental funding methodology to include outpatient services, including the approximately 125,000 ED services provided by the hospital every year. This will cost an estimated $25 million per year. More importantly, it will save countless lives.”
Newsom had previously vetoed legislation authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Assembly Bill (AB) 2426, which aimed to expand MLKCH’s supplemental funding in order to cover hospital-based outpatient services provided in the emergency department. The bill provided MLKCH approximately $25-$30 million in additional funds annually.
Not long after Waters sent a letter to Newsom on June 14, Newsom reversed course and signed off the legislation to fund MLKCH.
It was a gangsta move as we say in the hood, and copied on the letter was a list of critical community stakeholders which included pastors, elected officials and civil rights leaders.
“This unique hospital serves some of the poorest and sickest people in the State of California and perhaps the entire country. Our community depends on MLKCH, and we cannot allow it to close,” Waters wrote.
Waters was just warming up after the victory for MLKCH when she turned her attention to the City of Inglewood in her Congressional District.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times — and confirmed by Waters in an interview with South Bay Black Journal – the Congresswoman is now objecting to Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts most prominent projects, The People Mover (ITC), a $2-billion transportation line that would link SoFi Stadium to one of Los Angeles’ newest rail lines (K-Line).
“It will not provide convenient connectivity to employment or public services for local residents,” she said. “The ITC is designed primarily to allow public transit users to connect the extra 1.6 miles from Metro’s K Line to sports and entertainment venues. Shuttle buses could most likely accomplish the same goal at a fraction of the cost, but have not been seriously considered as an alternative,” Waters told the Times.
Affirming her commitment to prevent the project from moving forward, Waters stated:
“To the degree that I can do anything to stop it, I will,” Waters said.
In addition, Waters believes the project will impact the state’s housing problem.
“The ITC threatens to exacerbate this crisis by displacing long-time Inglewood residents and small and minority-owned businesses and diverting resources away from some of the most urgent needs of the local communities in my district,” she wrote.
The four-term mayor has courted billionaires and inked deals to build SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome that have transformed his community.
As one might expect, Butts was not happy about Waters’ position.
“You can’t come in at the 11th hour with a little fairy tale story about how something is so terrible,” he said. The letter was “ill-conceived” and many of the points “fully invalid,” Butts told The Times, adding that Waters did not reach out to him to discuss the matter.
However, this is what leadership is all about, challenging the most powerful within your own party with conviction.
Waters’s outspokenness and tenacity sacrifices has attracted threats her and assassination attempts. She has sacrificed her life and put the safety of her family in jeopardy to fight for the constituents she serves.
Whether it’s standing at the forefront during civil unrest in Los Angeles or bearing the torch of justice after the brutal police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, we can always count on “Auntie Maxine” to be in the middle of the fight. In a sense she’s like Mike Tyson in his heyday, always menacing and going towards the opponent with intentions of securing victory by any means necessary.
Ken Miller is publisher of the South Bay Black Journal.
