Karen Bass Makes History as the First Black Woman Mayor of Los Angeles

By Gloria Zuurveen
Editor-in-Chief

LOS ANGELES-Karen Bass has won. She has made history and she has done it with the grassroots against a billionaire. She is the first Black woman to hold the highest position as mayor of Los Angeles. She was consistent and steady with her message and it touched the citizens of Los Angeles so much so that they have spoken and she has won. Now what?

Bass won her seat with a large majority of the Black votes.

Now what?

Will you bring forth a Black agenda for those who stuck by you through thick and thin?

Will the dismal statistics that we’ve consistently heard coming out of City Hall about the Blacks remain the same?

Congratulations Bass, you deserve it for sure, but the crucial questions, must be asked. “Now what?” and “Where do we go from here?”

Get some rest Bass. You deserve it. You have fought a good fight and you have won as the first Black woman to sit in the seat of power in the city. Now maybe you can be the catalyst to  help it heal from all the former trials and tribulations of corruption and city councilmembers racist rants that caused the sitting president, Nury Martinez, to resign and a union leader to slip and slide away from his leadership position. Two still remains and Bass, you will have to hit the ground running to clean house and set the record straight from the start. The Black community will seek redress.

The community deserves nothing less and Kevin De Leon and Gil Cedillo needs to really move on. The people are looking for a new day and for things to be done in a new way.

Caruso conceded and it is over. He is to be applauded for his gracious and humble surrender. Now he can get on with what he does best and that is to continue developing and hopefully with the new history-making mayor, Bass.

Now is the time for consensus building and for Blacks to seek from the new mayor a real Black Agenda. It is a worthy cause to bring forth healing and to help and not to continue to hurt and to cause divisiveness. It is time for the words of the late Rodney King who once said after being beaten in the head by officers Koon and Powell, “Can we all get along?”

With Bass sitting on the throne as the newly-elected mayor, this maybe the time for those words to ring true.

Bass congratulation and may God bless you.