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Years
Vol. 65 No. 35 | Thursday, August 28, 2025
www.sdvoice.info
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 65 Years
“CALIFORNIA MUST LEAD WITH COURAGE” NAACP Urges Legislature to Pass Stalling Reparations Bills
By Antonio Ray Harvey CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
(D-San Diego), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC).
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, California-Hawaii State Conference (CA/ HI NAACP), is urging the Legislature to pass two reparations bills authored by state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson
The bills — Senate Bill (SB) 518 and SB) 437 — were assigned to the “Suspense File” after review in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. See COURAGE page 2
Students from UCLA visit the State Capitol on April 22 to show support for the reparative justice bills SB 518 and SB 437, authored by Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego). PHOTO: Antonio Ray Harvey/CBM
MARKING A MILESTONE:
QUEEN MOTHER HARMON TURNS 94 By Alyssa Thomas CONTRIBUTING WRITER
INSIDE THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
Stacy Abrams Headlines the San Diego Book Festival SEE PAGES 6-7
Founder of the San Diego Peace Coalition, the San Diego Democratic Delegate and a longtime respected community activist, Mrs. Kathleen Harmon, affectionately known as “Queen Mother”, celebrated her 94th birthday this past Sunday, August 24th, at Kaluu Restaurant and Bar with a host of family and friends who came from across the country to honor her big day. Mrs. Kathleen Harmon PHOTO: Alyssa Thomas
See MILESTONE page 6
‘LEGACY, LEADERSHIP AND LOVE’: THE SCLC IN 2025 By Macy Meinhardt V&V STAFF REPORTER, CA LOCAL NEWS FELLOW
Finding itself in a new era of activism, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference — one of the most storied civil rights organizations in American history — has entered a new chapter under a newly appointed president and CEO.
PHOTO: Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Last summer, DeMark Liggins was elected president during the group’s 65th annual convention in Atlanta; shoes once filled by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Founded in 1957 under Dr. King’s stewardship, the SCLC played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, from the Selma to Montgomery march to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. That history, the new president emphasized, continues to define the organization’s place in the national story. “Our legacy at SCLC is entrenched in the fabric of America,” he said. “Steadfast to our mantra of saving the soul of America, our movement has produced a bevy of leaders beyond Dr. King,” Liggins said, in a recorded presidential message speech. See SCLC page 2
TRUMP’S RACIST TAKEOVER OF THE SMITHSONIAN By Stacy M. Brown BLACK PRESS USA SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
Donald Trump’s administration has intensified its takeover of the Smithsonian Institution, advancing an agenda that historians and civil rights leaders say is rooted in racism and political censorship. Under the guise of “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” Trump’s March executive order placed Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of purging Smithsonian exhibitions of what the White House calls “divisive” narratives, targeting especially those that address race, slavery, and systemic injustice. The latest moves include the removal of references to Trump’s two impeachments from the National Museum of American History’s “Limits of Presidential Power” exhibit.
News reported on August 1, 2025, that it followed White House pressure during a broader content review. Trump is the only U.S. president impeached twice—once in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and again in 2021 for incitement of insurrection—but both proceedings were temporarily erased from the museum’s public record.
Smithsonian officials claimed the change was part of a “restoration” to the exhibit’s 2008 version, but ABC
READ MORE ON THE ASSAULT ON BLACK HISTORY. See page 2
The National Museum of African American History and Culture at night with the Washington Monument in downtown Washington DC. PHOTO: NNPA
ADMINISTRATION TRIES TO PRETEND
SLAVERY NEVER HAPPENED By Stacy M. Brown BLACK PRESS USA SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
The Trump White House has declared war on history itself. In an official article published Friday, Aug. 22, on the White House website, the administration blasted the Smithsonian Institution for telling the truth about slavery, systemic racism, and inequality in America. It was not just an attack on museums—it was an attack on memory, on facts, and on the lives of generations of Black Americans who endured the country’s greatest crimes. See ADMINISTRATION page 2
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PHOTO: The White House, Washington DC/ Mesut Dogan via NNPA