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Vol. 64 No. 11 | Thursday, March 14, 2024
www.sdvoice.info
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 64 Years
In Observance of
Lent
and
Senate Leaders and Civil Rights Advocates Unite to Reinforce Voting Protections By Stacy M. Brown NNPA NEWSWIRE SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
Committee will hold a hearing on March 12 to discuss the growing threats to voting rights and the need for federal voting safeguards.
In a press briefing on Thursday, February 29, Senate leaders, alongside civil rights advocates, announced the reintroduction of S.4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, aimed at safeguarding voting rights and fortifying the nation’s democratic foundations.
Leaders said as the nation reflects on the sacrifices of civil rights champions like the late Rep. John Lewis, the call resounds for every member of Congress to endorse pivotal democracy bills, including the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, and the Native American Voting Rights Act.
According to U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate Judiciary
See VOTING page 2
PHOTO: NNPA
Tragic Loss Fuels INSIDE Review of SDPD
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
Pursuit Policy
8 year-old Malikai, and 4 year-old Mason Orozco-Romero, two victims of a police chase that ended in a fiery fatal car collision. PHOTO: Courtesy of the Orozco-Romero family.
By Macy Meinhardt VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER Tasha Willamson’s words on behalf of a Mother who lost her children in an alleged botched police chase last year pierced the room Wednesday night, as community members gathered to discuss the dangerous impacts police pursuits hold to the public at large. On the evening of December 8, 2023 an unlicensed driver, going approximately 100 mph while fleeing police, slammed into the back of their family friend’s Honda vehicle in Mountain View, killing Victoria OrozcoRomero’s two young sons sitting in the back, 4 year-old Mason and 8 year-old Malikai Orozco-Romero.
“KICK CANCER TO THE CURB” FUNDRAISER
“If the police followed the rules of the pursuit, those two little boys would still be here.”
SEE PAGE 8
It is reported that the suspect, 20 year-old Angel Daniel Velasquez-Salgado, was signaled to pull over for speeding and driving with his lights off. Instead of yielding to officers, Velasquez-Salgado sped off, resulting in a chase that spanned about 5 miles on surface streets and two freeways, reaching up to 100 mph in speed. The chase was halted at the 43rd street off-ramp where Velasquez-Salgado reared into the family’s car, sending it off an embankment and into a tree where it burst into flames. Along with the mother, Victoria, the boys’ nanny was also in the car, where she was transported to a nearby hospital for injuries. Velasquez-Salgado allegedly fled the scene and took off some clothes to conceal
COLG’s “WOMEN BEHIND THE MASK” SEE PAGE 10
his identity, prosecutors allege; he was later arrested a few blocks away. The two boys on the way to the hospital and VelasquezSalgado pleaded not-guilty to two murder charges. See PURSUIT page 2
Ten Little-Known Facts About
Harriet Tubman
MARCH IS
WOMEN’S
HISTORY MONTH
By Edward Henderson CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA At the beginning of this Women’s History Month in 2024, and as March marks the 201st year since Harriet Tubman was presumably born, California Black Media (CBM) honors this monumental figure by sharing 10 little-known facts about her life. 1. Harriet was not her birth name. The then-named “Araminta Ross” was the daughter of Ben Ross, a skilled woodsman, and Harriet ‘Rit’ Green. Tubman adopted her mother’s name after escaping slavery, and her surname came from her first marriage in 1844, to a free Black man John Tubman. 2. She was the first woman to lead an armed assault in the Civil War. Caleb Foote and Joshua Echebiri. Photos by Rich Soublet II.
Tubman contributed to the war effort as scout, a nurse, a cook and a spy to Federal troops. In June 1863, Tubman worked alongside Colonel James Montgomery to assault plantations along the Combahee River. Using intelligence from escaped slaves, she guided Union riverboats through Confederate torpedo traps. At least 750 slaves were freed in the mission. See TUBMAN page 2
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