Years
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Vol. 65 No. 27 | Thursday, July 3, 2025
www.sdvoice.info
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 65 Years
Happy 4th of July! THE MEANING OF JULY FOURTH FOR THE NEGRO Well before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and well before June 19, 1865, when news of freedom finally reached over 250,000 Galveston, Texas slaves, Frederick Douglass reflected on the paradoxical nature of the nation’s Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations in his July 5, 1852 speech “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?” While change has come, there are still battles to be won for equal rights, equal access, and equal protections under the law. For Black people, the words of Frederick Douglass still resonate today. For some, the July Fourth holiday is cause for anticipatory celebration, others choose not to celebrate at all, while others celebrate the day with some reticence. — Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher
THE WORDS OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, JULY 5, 1852
Excerpt from “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July”
Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too. Great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, IMAGE: Dale Stephanos I will unite with you to honor their memory… ciples of political freedom and of natural justice, …Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with See FOURTH page 9 your national independence? Are the great prin-
MOSQUITOES TEST POSITIVE FOR
WEST NILE VIRUS VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE Mosquitoes collected in routine monitoring in Rolando—a neighborhood in the mid-city region of San Diego—have tested positive for West Nile virus. The find prompted County environmental health officials to remind the public to protect themselves from mosquitoes that can transmit the virus. The positive tests mark the first time mosquitoes have tested positive in San Diego County since 2023. Four dead birds have also tested positive this year. There have been no reported human cases in San Diego County this year. However, West Nile virus remains a potentially deadly threat. County officials said people should continue to follow the County’s “Prevent, Protect, Report” guidelines to protect themselves from mosquitoes. Those include finding and dumping out standing water around homes to keep
PHOTO: Courtesy of the County News Center
mosquitoes from breeding. West Nile virus is mainly a bird disease, but it can be transmitted to humans by several types of mosquitoes if they feed on an infected bird and then bite people. Some people who become infected can suffer symptoms including headache, fever, nausea, fatigue, skin rash, or swollen glands. But in rare cases, West Nile virus can make people extremely ill and even kill them. See VIRUS page 2
INSIDE
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
BELL’S 5th ANNUAL BUSINESS SUMMIT
BLANKET SOUNDS 2025 SEE PAGE 10
SEE PAGE 7
TRUMP’S TAX PLAN DELIVERS BIG WINS TO THE WEALTHY, CUTS FOR THE REST IN MAJOR U.S. CITIES
By Stacy M. Brown BLACK PRESS USA SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
PHOTO: NNPA
The House-passed tax overhaul backed by President Donald Trump promises broadbased relief, but detailed Penn Wharton analysis shows the legislation disproportionately benefits high-income households while delivering modest gains—or losses—for working-class Americans in cities like Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D.C. Dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the legislation makes permanent and expands the 2017 Trump tax cuts. It raises the cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction from $10,000 to $40,000, temporarily ends taxes on tips and overtime pay, and increases the child tax credit by $500 through 2028. To offset the cost—estimated at $2.8 trillion over 10 years—the bill also slashes Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by more than $1.2 trillion combined. In every city studied, higher-income households walk away with five-figure gains while low-income families—many of them Black or Latino— lose more in benefit cuts than they gain in tax relief. For instance, a single mother earning $20,000 with two children in Baltimore’s 21216
Dr. John E. Warren Has Been Elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association Serving Over 200 Black Newspaper and Media Outlets in the Country.
WHAT CALIFORNIA EDUCATION CUTS COULD MEAN FOR BLACK STUDENTS
By Quintessa Williams WORD IN BLACK
PHOTO: NeonBrand
Earlier this year, the Black Minds Matter 2025 report projected that California’s Black K-12 public school students wouldn’t reach reading proficiency until 2070, or math proficiency until 2089. But that was assuming schools would continue to receive full funding. Now, those timelines could be stretched even further, due in part to a fight between the state and the Trump administration amid the recent ICE raids and widespread protests in Los Angeles. See EDUCATION page 2
See TAX page 2
TARGET’S PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION BACKFIRES By Stacy M. Brown BLACK PRESS USA SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. is facing mounting criticism after announcing a three-year, $300,000 partnership with Target, a company at the center of an ongoing boycott over its retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The deal, made public on June 20, is intended to support scholarships, senior programs, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. But national faith leaders, media figures, and everyday churchgoers are denouncing the move as a betrayal. Target, a multi-billion-dollar retailer,
has faced criticism in recent months after scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to political pressure. Religious leaders and activists who launched the boycott accuse the company of abandoning commitments to Black communities. Target told Black Press USA that it hadn’t abandoned those commitments.
However, critics maintain the company has turned its back on Black America. They argue that the partnership with one of the nation’s oldest Black faith organizations sends the wrong message. Roland Martin, one of the country’s most prominent African American
www.sdvoice.info PHOTO: Courtesy of Roland Martin Unfiltered
journalists and boycott supporter, called the move “a stunning act of betrayal to Black America.” He noted that with more than 31,000 churches affiliated with the convention, the $300,000 commitment amounts to less
than $10 per church. “This is a $9.67 sellout,” Martin said. “You don’t get to speak for us when you never talked to us.” See TARGET page 2