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Years
Vol. 65 No. 33 | Thursday, August 14, 2025
www.sdvoice.info
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 65 Years
WHAT TRUMP’S CONTROL OF D.C. POLICE MEANS FOR THE CITY, ITS MAYOR, AND BLACK RESIDENTS
INSIDE THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
CALVARY BAPTIST’S FAMILY & FRIENDS WEEKEND
LINCOLN HIGH CLASS OF ’95 REUNION
SEE PAGE 7
Police Car with Lights on at night in the City. PHOTO: NNPA
By Stacy M. Brown BLACK PRESS USA SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
exists only because the District lacks full statehood.
Donald Trump today seized direct control of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, removing authority from Mayor Muriel Bowser and placing the force under the command of Attorney General Tom Cotton. The move comes under a “crime emergency” declaration that allows the president to invoke Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act — a rarely used law that
For Mayor Bowser, this means she no longer has operational control of her own police department. All decisions on how and where officers are deployed now run through the Justice Department. That includes the ability to redirect D.C. police from neighborhood patrols to guard federal buildings, secure national monuments, and police protests — even if it leaves fewer officers in local communities.
By Antonio Ray Harvey CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
“California cannot sit back and let that happen. We have a responsibility to step up. We are going to step up,” said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights). Bryan was speaking at a news conference in Sacramento where Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), Assembly Asm. Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), vice chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, spoke at the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento on Aug. 8, 2025, addressing the state’s efforts to redraw Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), Historic congressional district boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterms. PHOTO: CBM U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and other state lawGov. Greg Abbott. makers welcomed Texas Democrats to Sacramento to back plans for redrawing California’s congressio“They will lose in the midterms and (Trump) nal maps ahead of the midterm elections. knows it. Why else would he make that phone call,” Newsom said. “His agenda is failing. His presidency Bryan said where he’s from in Los Angeles, “when is failing. He knows the headwinds in a midterm. He’s dialing for seats.” they go low, we squabble up.”
The move to redraw California’s electoral maps comes in response to efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw their maps, potentially gaining five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives — a reported request from President Donald Trump to Texas
Archaeologists in Virginia have unearthed the foundation of a building from the 1700s that once supported the
New Leadership and Bright Futures for Diverse Learners
Students walking into the first day of school at Bell Middle School, Aug. 11, 2025. PHOTO: Macy Meinhardt/ V&V
By Macy Meinhardt V&V STAFF WRITER, CA LOCAL NEWS FELLOW
School District began classes this week, including the 750 students who call Bell Middle School home.
Before the first bell rang Monday morning, the campus of Bell Middle School in San Diego’s Paradise Hills neighborhood was already buzzing.
Students, fresh in their back to school fits, chattered amongst eachother, comparing schedules, taking selfies and reuniting with friends after the summer break.
Welcoming nearly 95,000 back for the 2025-2026 school year, San Diego Unified
See SCHOOL page 12
POLITICAL PLAYBACK:
CALIFORNIA CAPITOL NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED By Bo Tefu CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
Texas State Representatives Rhetta Bowers, Gina Hinojosa, Ann Johnson, Ray Lopez, Mary Ann Perez, and Vince Perez were in attendance, along with U.S. Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18) and several California state legislators.
California Lawmakers Consider Bill to Ease Short-Term Guardianships Amid Immigration Concerns
The news conference took place at the California Governor’s Mansion Historic Park, a site that served as the official residence for California governors for over 60 years, located a short drive from the State Capitol.
California lawmakers are weighing a proposal aimed at helping families maintain stability when parents face sudden separation — particularly due to immigration enforcement.
See BATTLE page 2
Assembly Bill 495, authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando) and dubbed the Family Preparedness Act of 2025, would create a streamlined process in probate court for short-term guardianships. The measure allows parents to temporarily place their
ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH FOUNDATION OF 1760s SCHOOLHOUSE FOR BLACK CHILDREN By The Associated Press
BACK TO SCHOOL AT BELL MIDDLE SCHOOL
See POLICE page 2
CALIFORNIA DEMS “SQUABBLE UP” IN NATIONAL REDISTRICTING BATTLE
“That doesn’t mean we are abandoning our values, continued Bryan. “We are not doing away with the independent commission that we establish every single decade, but we are meeting this moment because this is not a turn-the-othercheek moment while they continue to send blow after blow to the foundations of our democracy.
SEE PAGE 6
nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, William & Mary announced this past June. The university in Williamsburg said the
foundation is nearly completely intact. Archaeologists also uncovered a cellar that is layered with centuries of artifacts, including slate pencil fragments and jewelry. The schoolhouse was later used as a dormitory, housing some of the first generations of women to attend college in the U.S. “The roots of our city and university entwine here,” said Katherine A. Rowe, William & Mary’s president. “Every layer of history that it reveals gives us new insights into our early republic, from the Williamsburg Bray School through the generations that followed, up through the early 20th century.”
William & Mary archaeologists uncover a foundation from the 1700s that once held the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children in 2025, in Williasburg, Va. PHOTO: William Mary/William Mary Center for Archaeological Research via AP
The Williamsburg Bray School taught hundreds of mostly enslaved students in the 1760s. The school rationalized slavery within a religious framework. And yet becoming literate also gave them more agency, with students sharing what they learned with family members.
PHOTO: Courtesy of CBM
children in the care of a trusted adult without giving up parental rights. “The cruel and unlawful federal immigration enforcement actions are spreading fear through many communities like mine,” said Rodriguez in a statement. See PLAYBACK page 2
The schoolhouse then became a private home before it was incorporated into William & Mary’s growing campus. The building was expanded for various purposes, including student housing, and later moved from its original location. Historians identified the structure in 2020 through a scientific method that examines tree rings in lumber. It was then moved to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a living history museum that includes parts of the original city. The museum has restored the schoolhouse and is working to identify the students’ descendants. Meanwhile, archaeologists with Colonial Williamsburg recently uncovered the foundation and cellar during a major project by William & Mary to renovate a university building, Gates Hall. The school’s archaeologists are also involved. See SCHOOLHOUSE page 2
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