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Vol. 63 No. 36
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Thursday, September 7, 2023
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Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 63 Years
HUNDREDS OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS HOLD LABOR DAY RALLY IN LA MESA
INSIDE
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
Healthcare Workers Call for Accountability, Sound the Alarm on the Patient Care Crisis
VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE Hundreds of healthcare workers held a Labor Day rally Monday, September 4 at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa. San Diego area elected officials, community members, and labor unions joined the rally.
ERRRVERYBODi’s 3RD ANNUAL WAKANDA FOREVER
Organized by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), the rally featured speeches from healthcare professionals, elected officials, and labor leaders who addressed the current challenges faced by workers in California and highlighted the urgent need for improved working conditions, better support systems, and increased investment in the healthcare workforce. See RALLY page 5
SEE PAGE 9
12th ANNUAL JAZZ AT THE CREEK SEE PAGE 10 PHOTO: Courtesy of SEIU-UHW
BLACK YOUTHS SUFFER THE MOST FROM GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA By Hazel Trice Edney TRICE EDNEY WIRE Sierra Jenkins, a former news assistant for CNN and reporter with the Virginian Pilot newspaper, was headed for the peak of her career. Her colleagues praised her for her journalistic acumen and her respect for reporting excellence. But when her editor tried to call her to assign her to cover a shooting in Downtown Norfolk, Va. on March 19 last year, he could get no answer. Way out of character for this young journalist, known for her professionalism and accountability, there would be a reason for her non-response that would shock the world. Sierra Jenkins, 25, was one of the victims of the very shooting that her editor sought her to cover. As her phone rang, she lay dead outside a popular pizza restaurant, felled by a bullet shot during an argument over a spilled drink. She was not involved in the dispute and the bullet was never
Homicide victim Sierra Jenkins. PHOTO: Trice Edney
intended for her. Nor was it intended for 25-year-old former high school honor student and football linebacker Devon Harris, also killed in the gunfire that night. The news devastated the community; their co-workers, family and friends.
Fifteen months later, on June 6 this year, Homicide victims Shawn Jackson and Renzo Smith. PHOTO: Trice Edney only about 90 miles away, 18-year-old Shawn Jackson was also a promising young Africanman who targeted the two men, according American. Having just graduated from to police. Huguenot High School 30 minutes earlier, he lay dead outside Richmond’s Altria Theatre Whether the shootings were unintended or criminally intended for their victims, across alongside his stepfather, Renzo Smith, a U. the nation — coast to coast — Black people S. Army veteran. Both were killed by bulare disproportionately dying, being wounded lets from a gun wielded by a 19-year-old
by or mentally suffering from gun violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading cause of death [cdc.gov] among America’s Black children and young adults ages 1-44 is homicide by firearms. See YOUTHS page 5
CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA, ETHNIC MEDIA SERVICES HOST AWARD SHOW AND CONFERENCE By Dr. John Warren, Publisher
SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSPAPER
Andy Wong, representing Cynthia Choi, Chinese for Affirmative Action and Stop AAPI Hate, Manjusha Kulkarni, Stop AAPI Hate, Sandy Close, director of Ethnic Media Services, CalOES representative, Yurina Melara, Connie Nakano, California Department of Aging, Chris Holbein RS-E, Jamie Romas California State Library and Regina Wilson, California Black Media. PHOTO: CBM
Over 200 people gathered at the Kimpton-Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento last week for a one-day symposium that truly accomplished its twin purposes of: (1) “Honoring Excellence in Journalism Among the State’s Ethnic Media Journalist & News Organizations”, and (2) to “Educate decision makers about the enduring power and resilience of ethnic media at a time when all media is struggling to survive.” These were the stated goals of the two organizers of the event, Regina Brown Wilson of California Black Media (CBM) and Sandy Close of Ethnic Media Services.
The day-long event started with a working luncheon at which the Californiia Secretary of State, Dr. Shirley Nash Weber, spoke of the importance of the fact that California now has seven of its eight Constitutional Officers as People of Color with the Governor as the lone minority Officeholder. She spoke with great pride about the privilege of being able to support the efforts of diversity and inclusion from her State Office and personal commitment. The theme of this opening session was the “Power of Ethnic Media”. See CONFERENCE page 5
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