New America Media, Ngoc Nguyen

ANTIOCH, Calif. — In 2005, Ethel Gist bought her “dream home” in a gated retirement community in Brentwood, Calif. Now three generations of Gist’s family members are living under one roof in a rented house in Antioch.

The loss of their homes has thrown their lives into upheaval.

The 68-year-old African American woman lost her Brentwood home in a short sale two years ago. During the same time, daughter Rosalyn’s house was foreclosed on. Gist now lives with her daughter and grandsons, who are 21 and 17 years old, in a four-bedroom house. The retiree says the move meant her teenage grandson, who she described as a “homebody,” had to transfer to a new high school — a transition he’s still getting used to.

Her other daughter, Rochelle, also lost her home in a short sale, throwing her family — husband and two children — into a tumultuous rental housing market.

Gist says all of their lives are less secure now.

“It’s kind of scary. You never know what’s going to happen,” Gist said. “Is this house [that we're renting] in default? Have we moved into a house that may be foreclosed on in the near future? There’s no real sense of security anymore.”

A few years ago, Gist was living in a serene, gated development on a golf course.

“There’s a 24-hour guard at the gate, I just felt totally secure,” she said, adding that she thrived on the companionship of her neighbors, and the “special bond” of living among peers in the retirement community.

“It was the type of community that I didn’t know existed,” said Gist, noting her fondness for taking walks, chatting with neighbors and getting involved in activities.

In 2009, at the height of the recession and housing crisis, Gist realized that she could no longer afford the lifestyle she wanted in her retirement. She got into trouble when her monthly payments spiked from $1,200 to $2,000 a month because of her adjustable rate mortgage.

Gist was living off of her pension, after a career with the Social Security administration. Gist’s attempt to strike a deal with her bank to reduce her monthly payments failed.

She decided it was better to walk away from the house through a short sale rather than damage her credit.

In the end, her unblemished credit history suffered, though, because she had helped her daughters buy their homes in Antioch, and both houses were in her name.

Now Gist spends her days answering the phones and greeting visitors in a small office at the Antioch Church Family, where she’s a congregant and part-time receptionist.

Gist says she enjoys the sense of “fellowship” that comes from working there: “If I know someone [a congregant] is sick, I call them,” she said, adding that the extra income helps, too. “I had access to anything I wanted,” said Gist, noting her former status as a homeowner and landlord and pristine credit. “All that has changed. I don’t feel as comfortable anymore.”

California State University of Northridge 2006 Black Graduation ceremony. (Saharra White-Kalyesubula)

Chris Levister, New America Media/Black Voice News
As church goers at Ecclesia Christian Fellowship lifted their voices in song Sunday, others came to the San Bernardino church on Date Street to spread the gospel about the benefits of not just getting into college but graduating.

Cal State’s six year old Super Sunday initiative aims to demonstrate to young African Americans that a college degree is within their reach.

But with deep budget cuts, larger class sizes and increasing fees, the successful campaign is operating in its most challenging economic environment ever.

Cal State campuses have been forced to cut classes, stalling efforts by many students to complete degrees. The university used about $25 million in one-time federal stimulus funds to bring back some of those classes.

In 2010 CSU embarked on a 23 campus initiative to raise its graduation rates and help more low income and minority students earn degrees.

“I’m here to tell you despite whatever budgetary circumstances there are, our commitment to enrolling and graduating more African American students is greater, stronger than it’s ever been,” cried the man addressing the congregation.

The words came not from Ecclesia pastor Joshua Beckley, but the president of California State University San Bernardino, Al Karnig.

On Sundays throughout February, Karnig and other CSU officials fanned out to more than 100 black churches aiming their message mainly at the families of middle-school children, preaching the idea that’s it’s never too early to prepare for college.

“There are tremendous sacrifices to winding your way to an undergraduate degree. There are significant advantages and benefits to making those sacrifices,” said Karnig.

Today only 1 in 5 African American students is eligible for CSU, Karnig told hundreds of worshipers who packed the pews.

“Partner with us so we can get the other four eligible, too!” 10-year-old Amon Miles Perdreau persuaded his parents Terrell and Edwyna who immigrated from Haiti to drive from their home in Temecula to attend the Super Sunday event. The gospel of higher education was music to his ears.

“He told me if I work hard at school. I can go to college and become an architect. I want to build tall buildings in downtown L.A. , maybe a hospital for sick kids.”

“Everybody talks about the budget cuts, but you still have to get the message across to young people and their parents because without a college education you’re facing an ugly future,” said Terrell.

“It’s extremely important that the middle school kids hear this message. They need to know that you can reach the promised-land with an education,” said Edwyna.

“Getting in is just the first step,” Karnig told the crowd. “Amen thank you Jesus,” said a man slapping his hands. “You got to graduate. You got to get that degree,” he shouted.

The university has set a goal of boosting its six-year graduation rate by 8% by 2016, bringing it to 54%, in line with the top national averages at similar institutions.

Universi ty leaders say they hope to raise graduation rates for underrepresented minori ty students by 10%, cutting in half what has been a thorny achievement gap in degree completion compared with White students.

“There are simple things the university can do, like having faculty members take class attendance and if a student misses two or three times, call, text or e-mail to find out why,” said Debra Masters, an elementary school teacher. “The goal should be to help them get back on track before they get a failing grade and give up hope.”

“We can give better academic advice to make sure students are on the right path to graduation. We can give them online road maps, a GPS sort of speak, so they can see over the next several semesters what courses they need to take to graduate. The key is paying more attention,” said Karnig.

He said the San Bernardino campus has the second highest African-American percentage of any California university. “We also have the very highest retention rate for first and second year of any of the 23 (CSU campuses),” Karnig said. At the same time, Karnig said that among black graduates throughout the country, only about one-third are men.

He told the congregation 56 percent of Cal State San Bernardino students don’t pay any fees because of various grants and scholarships.

“Even as it faces the grimmest budget outlook in its history, given the changing demographics in the region our universities including CSU must do a better job not just admitting students but graduating African American and Latino kids in particular,” said Ecclesia pastor Rev. Joshua Beckley, whose wife, daughter and son-in law graduated from Cal State.

He warned that cutting classes, raising fees and reducing some general education requirements in order to graduate more students could compromise quality.

“It’s one thing to move more students toward graduation. The big thing is to ensure that the quality of that degree is not compromised. Employers are looking for more than a piece of paper.”

This was Ms. Bass’ first State of the Union as a member of congress, though she attended the past two addresses as Speaker of the California Assembly and sat in the House gallery.

“President Obama’s blueprint for winning the future is made possible because we aggressively stabilized the present and prevented a recession from turning into a depression,” said Congresswoman Karen Bass. “To win the future we must not repeat past mistakes that puts Wall Street first and Main Street last. Working families and the underserved are shouldering the burden of this economic pain and recovery must run through the streets of our communities.”

“As we implement the President’s plan to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world, we must do so with a spirit of bipartisanship and duty of responsibility. That work begins tonight.”

Karen Bass represents the 33rd congressional district, which includes Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Culver City and was the 67th Speaker of the California Assembly.

Last Saturday (March 20, 2010) a anti-war protest was held in Hollywood. Here are some of the pictures we took at the event. We will also post a couple of videos of the event to our Youtube channel within the next couple of days. Sorry for the delay.

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With this new agreement, Sony Music’s Columbia Epic Label Group and Legacy Recordings will continue their term of rights to his catalog and also create new projects for Michael Jackson featuring the never-before-released Jackson recordings. The first project featuring unreleased music is expected for release in November 2010.

Rob Stringer, Chairman of the Columbia Epic Label Group comments, “Michael has always been a treasured member of the Sony Music family. We’re dedicated to protecting this icon’s legacy and we’re thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future.”

John Branca comments, “During his life, Michael’s contracts set the standard for the industry, reflecting his unique vision and talents that inspired and excited people in every corner of the world. By all objective criteria, this agreement with Sony Music demonstrates the lasting power of Michael’s music by exceeding all previous industry benchmarks. Each new generation produces countless new fans who appreciate Michael’s artistry, requiring a partner that has Sony’s wherewithal, business acumen and foresight to properly and respectfully showcase his genius well into the future.”

As a solo artist with Epic Records spanning three decades, Michael has sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide and released thirteen #1 singles. Jackson became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award. Sony’s Legacy Recordings has also created a number of successful projects such as the “Thriller” 25th anniversary album. The best selling album of all time worldwide by wide margin, “Thriller” showed the lasting power of Michael’s music by returning to #1 on the weekly sales charts in 2008.

John McClain comments, “Nowhere did Michael set the bar higher than he did with ‘Thriller,’ which nearly three decades after its release by Epic remains by far the best-selling album in history worldwide with music that transcends generations. We believe we have a partner in Sony that knows and appreciates Michael’s artistry as well as the passion of his fans. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Sony to preserve and enhance his remarkable musical legacy.”

This past fall, Sony Music released the #1 two-disc album companion to the motion picture Michael Jackson’s This is It ” which has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Released by Sony Pictures, the film made history as the highest grossing concert film of all time and the recently released DVD took the #1 spot in DVD sales, breaking the record for first-week’s sales of a music film.