The Southern Truth: $133 Million Spent on Prop 50, But Not a Dime for the Black Press — Maybe Pennies

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By Dr. Gloria Zuurveen

Something is wrong. Deeply wrong.
Millions—no, over $133 million—have been poured into the Proposition 50 campaigns, both for and against, yet the Black press has been left standing on the sidelines, empty-handed.

Once again, the voices that speak most directly to Black communities—the boots on the ground, the ones who know our neighborhoods, our struggles, our history—are shut out of the dollars that flow freely everywhere else.

Let’s tell the Southern Truth: this is not an oversight. This looks intentional.

Because for years, when big political money starts moving, the Black press is told to wait, to be patient, to take crumbs—if even that. But now, with more than $133 million swirling around, crumbs I am being told is being passed around, maybe pennies in comparison, are being allocated to the institutions that have faithfully informed, empowered, and mobilized Black voters. So I ask the question: Where is the money?

According to public records as of October 2, the support campaign for Proposition 50 has raised $92.5 million, and the opposition has gathered $40.5 million. The largest donors are not grassroots organizations serving everyday people—they are wealthy institutions, super PACs, and billionaires with their own agendas.

The Fund for Policy Reform (FPR), linked to George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, dropped $10 million to support the proposition.

The House Majority PAC, dedicated to electing Democrats to Congress, gave another $9.99 million.

The California Teachers Association Issues PAC chipped in $3.1 million.

On the other side:

Charles Munger Jr., a Republican mega-donor, gave a staggering $32.7 million—more than 80% of the opposition’s total.

The Congressional Leadership Fund added $5 million, and other wealthy donors tossed in millions more.

All of this money—tens upon tens of millions of dollars—is being traded between the same old political players, the same insiders, the same networks. Meanwhile, the Black press, which, in many instances has stood faithfully with the Democratic Party for decades, remains shut out and left behind.

Let’s call it what it is: political trickery.
The Black press has been treated like it doesn’t matter, as though Black voters don’t deserve the same respect, resources, or investment as other communities. We are good enough to deliver votes, but not good enough to share in the dollars that drive the message.

Where is the California Black Media (CBM) in this conversation? Literally and not just on Zoom meetings. What’s really going on with the funds that are shown to be floating around. If it is anybody who know it will the California Black Media. Where are the Black organizations who once ensured we had a seat at the table? From where I stand, it looks like the seats have been taken, the plates cleared, and the doors shut.

This is a mockery of equity.
And it must stop.

Fannie Lou Hamer said it best:

“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Well, I’m sick and tired too—of watching over $133 million flow through California politics while the Black press, the very soul and conscience of our community, is left scraping for crumbs.

How can it be that our people—who have been the backbone of the Democratic vote—are ignored when it comes to real investment? How can the Black press, the messenger to the masses, be overlooked while millions are spent elsewhere to reach the very same voters?

And let’s be clear—the Republicans are not off the hook either. They cannot sit by and act as though Black people don’t matter while playing racist games with the system and pretending history doesn’t exist. Those days are over. This is not the same America as the days of old.

We are free now, and it is our legacy to claim what is rightfully ours. The Republican Party must come to its senses and acknowledge that Black people have a storied and unshakable history in these United States of America. Lest they forget, funding everybody but Black people will not stand in the end. Because through it all—through slavery, segregation, and systemic exclusion—we are still here. And in the end, we will win.

The Southern Truth is this:
We must stop using our media companies to fatten frogs for snakes.
We must stop accepting silence and exclusion.
We must demand our rightful share—because if our votes matter, then our voices matter, and our media must be funded to tell our truth.

What goes around comes around.
If this pattern of exclusion continues, those in power will soon find that their once-loyal base is no longer content to be ignored. The Black press is not a charity—it is a necessity. And justice means funding must flow fairly and proportionately.

Enough is enough.
It’s time to stop begging and start building.
Let’s take our bread and butter and start our own table—one that serves us, speaks for us, and looks out for us.

That’s the Southern Truth.