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Vol. 63 No. 25 |
Thursday, June 22, 2023
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Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 63 Years
SAN DIEGO CITY LEADERS
DESIGNATE JUNETEENTH AS AN OFFICIAL CITY HOLIDAY SEE PAGE 4
ENCANTO BAPTIST COMMUNITY FAIR
COOPER FAMILY JUNETEENTH FEST
SEE PAGE 9
Covid-19 cases in southeast SOURCE: County of San Diego [Data through 6/10/2023, Updated 6/15/2023]
(left to right) Councilmembers Joe LaCava, Stephen Whitburn, Jennifer Campbell, Monica Montgomery Steppe, Mayor Todd Gloria, and Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera, and Raul Campillo posing with the Juneteenth Day ordinance Monday, June 19, 2023 at the George Stevens Senior Resource Center.
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6 KEY POINTS
FROM THE SCATHING REPORT
California Black Media Political Playback:
NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
ON MINNEAPOLIS POLICE
AFTER GEORGE FLOYD’S KILLING
By Joe Bowers and Edward Henderson CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
Under Fed Ruling, Gig Workers Could Find It Easier to Unionize
SEE PAGE 10
By Heather Hollingsworth AP
Gig drivers took to the streets in San Francisco, CA May 11, 2020 to demand their righ tfor safety and fair pay from car-hailing apps like Uber. PHOTO: Shutterstock courtesy of CBM
On June 13, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) broadened the requirements for independent contractor classification. This ruling could open the door for new workers to organize, form unions and go on strike against
their employers. Under existing labor law, only workers with employee status are allowed to unionize. See PLAYBACK page 2
THE STORY BEHIND JUNETEENTH AND HOW IT BECAME A FEDERAL HOLIDAY AP
Americans celebrated Juneteenth Monday, June 19, 2023, marking the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in
U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts. The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday. See JUNETEENTH page 2
General view of the gas station in George Floyd Square on Friday, June 16, 2023 in Minneapolis. The Justice Department accused Minneapolis police Friday of engaging in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discriminating against Black and Native American people following an investigation prompted by the killing of George Floyd. PHOTO: Kerem Yücel /Minnesota Public Radio via AP
The Justice Department on Friday issued a scathing assessment of Minneapolis police, alleging that racial discrimination and excessive force went unchecked before George Floyd’s killing because of inadequate oversight and an unwieldy process for investigating complaints. The probe began in April 2021, a day after former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was
convicted of murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020, killing of Floyd, a Black man. Floyd, who was in handcuffs, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe before going limp as Chauvin knelt on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes. The killing was recorded by a bystander and sparked months of mass protests as part of a broader national reckoning over racial injustice. See FLOYD page 2
NYC MARINE VETERAN INDICTMENT IN
DEATH OF SUBWAY RIDER SPARKS DEBATE By Stacy M. Brown NNPA NEWSWIRE SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT New York City grand jurors handed down an indictment last Wednesday, charging Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, with second-degree manslaughter in the death of fellow subway rider Jordan Neely.
Sam Collins III, left, and others celebrate at the Juneteenth historical marker on June 17, 2021, in Galveston, Texas, after President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. PHOTO: Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP
The incident last month has become a contentious issue, stirring discussions on mental health, crime, and race. Penny and Neely were riding an F train in Manhattan when Neely allegedly began engaging in what witness Juan Alberto described as “somewhat aggressive speech.” Neely reportedly expressed being hungry, thirsty, and indifferent toward the consequences of his actions. A bystander cap-
PHOTO: Courtesy of NNPA
tured part of the confrontation on video, which showed Penny restraining Neely in a chokehold on the train’s floor for several minutes. First responders reached Neely at the Broadway-Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street Station, where he was unconscious. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at a hospital. See DEBATE page 2
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