Keeping It Real Archives - VOICE

Donald Trump seeks to freeze funding for childcare programs and other family assistance programs in key states led by Democrats including California.

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: Fighting Back Against Trump’s Attack on Childcare and Family Assistance Programs

by S.E. Williams January 13, 2026January 13, 2026

Donald Trump has threatened to freeze $10 billion in social service funding to five states led by Democratic governors, impacting families who rely on childcare and other assistance programs, in an attempt to retaliate against his political opponents.

Nearly 60 years after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as we approach his birthday we must acknowledge that the same hatred that haunted, hunted and murdered him, today is in near full control of the levers of power in America. One thing we know for sure, however, is that you can kill a man but you can’t kill a dream. 2026 is not only a mid-term election year, it is also the year we must find the courage needed to make a change.

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: Nexus 2026: The Third Monday in January and the First Tuesday in November

by S.E. Williams January 6, 2026January 6, 2026

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: Reflecting on America Through the Looking Glass As We Prepare for 2026

by S.E. Williams December 30, 2025December 30, 2025

House Speaker Mike Johnson dismisses Congress early for the holiday break to avoid a vote on the Democrats’ bill calling for an extension of the COVID-19 era COVID-19 subsidies.

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: The Grinch That Stole Christmas by Blocking the Extension of ACA Subsidies

by S.E. Williams December 23, 2025December 23, 2025

Black Voters Matter, the Mass Blackout initiative and more than 50 grassroots organizations across the country called for a national boycott during Thanksgiving weekend, The ”We Ain’t Buying It” initiative focused on pre-selected retailers who dispassionately traded the loyalty of their Black and Brown customers for political expediency.

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Keeping it Real: Assessing the Impact of “We Ain’t Buying It!” Boycott

by S.E. Williams December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

Richard Matus’ nieces and nephews, Alleena Morales, Maddie Morales, Willy Jr, and Bella Fuentes, and his sister and brother-in-law, Rachel and Willy Morales, his mother, Lisa Matus, and older brother, Andrew Cortez, pose for a portrait in Lisa’s home, where Richard lived, on June 14, 2023. Matus was one of 19 deaths in Riverside County Jails in 2022.

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: FAC Sues Riverside Over Transparency in Quest for Sheriff Department Jail Deaths Accountability

by S.E. Williams December 11, 2025December 11, 2025

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: Major Settlement Reached in Moreno Valley School District Police Brutality Case

by S.E. Williams December 2, 2025December 2, 2025

With so much political negativity in the air rising from extreme and questionable actions of the current commander-in-chief, it is sometimes challenging to remember how much power we have as citizens; how local communities and leaders are standing as bulwarks against these actions; and how gratitude is a powerful tool for effecting change.

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: “Gratitude Can Transform Any Situation”

by S.E. Williams November 25, 2025November 25, 2025

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: Why “We Ain’t Buying It”

by S.E. Williams November 18, 2025November 21, 2025

On Sunday, at least eight moderate to conservative Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the filibuster and pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government without the promised extension of the ACA subsidies.

Keeping It Real

Keeping it Real: After a Watershed Election, Democrats Unexpectedly Cave on ACA Subsidies

by S.E. Williams November 11, 2025November 11, 2025