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Vol. 64 No. 19 | Thursday, May 9, 2024
INSIDE
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
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Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 64 Years
San Diego Mayor's Budget Cuts Results in Community Uproar Opponents advocate for a revised “People’s Budget” centered on equity
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLERS BRING SOLUTIONS AT SHOWCASE IN BALBOA PARK SEE PAGE 8
SDSU STUDENT PUSHES FOR PEACE SEE PAGE 8
By Macy Meinhardt VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER
exacerbate existing inequities for marginalized communities. The cuts to equity programs equate to $36 million which includes the shuttering of initiatives such as gang violence prevention, cannabis equity, and immigrant affairs. Many residents, particularly those “South of the 8” have expressed outrage, summing up their sentiment to: “Todd hates poor people.”
“Let’s make it clear we will not be pushed out. We demand a “People’s Budget,” attendees at the rally said. Outside of San Diego City Hall amid a ten plus hour budget hearing on May 1st, a crowd of fifty or so community members gathered to express their deep frustrations over Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.
Almost everyone in attendance was fitted with a picket sign ranging from sayings such as “Invest in our community,” “Poor people are constituents too,” or “Todd the Fraud.”
“Shame on: Todd! Shame on: Todd!”
A series of community members spoke at the May 1st rally, expressing opposition and endless commitment in the fight for equity within the City of San Diego.
“Who does Todd hate? Poor people!” the crowd chanted. Community members argue that the proposed cuts within the City’s $5.6 billion fiscal spending plan will
Right now the tone of South-
Southeastern community members rally outside City Hall amid Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts on May 1st, 2024. PHOTO: Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint
eastern community members is fraught between their city leaders. Thousands of people are still displaced from the January flooding, and many believe the city's historical disinvestment within District 4 is at fault for the devastation that occurred. Now to have programs—specifically designed and championed by their community—subject to defunding further twists the knife.
“Our newest residents deserve justice. After the catastrophic floods we saw this year the mayor should be putting more resources into infrastructure that addresses climate change and the impacts it has on low-income and BIPOC communities, not cutting,” said Keara O’ Laughlin, with Center for Policy Initiatives. See UPROAR page 6
At Sacramento Rally, Former Inmates Share Memories of Forced Labor By Antonio Ray Harvey CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
Dorsey Nunn, left, was presented honorary gifts at the All of Us or None of Us rally for his advocacy to improve conditions for incarcerated individuals in California prisons. Nunn founded AOUNOU's policy advocacy arm. PHOTO: Antonio Ray Harvey/ CBM
Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) addressed a group of advocates and activists, including formerly incarcerated men and women at the State Capitol last week. She promised them that she is determined to advance Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 8 “across the finish line” for voters’ to decide in a November General Election referendum.
Wilson, Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), was speaking at an April 29 rally at the State Capitol organized to promote “The End Slavery in California Act,” a measure that Wilson authored to amend the California Constitution, abolishing involuntary servitude in prisons across the state.
resolve to end all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude in our state. ACA is vital because it proposes to remove the ‘exception’ for involuntary servitude from the state’s constitution, declaring unequivocally that all forms of slavery are prohibited,” Wilson said at the rally held on the southeast end of the State Capitol’s grounds.
“This is not just legislation. It is a declaration of our value and
See LABOR page 6
From San Diego to Sacramento, VP Harris Announces Legislators Push to ‘Stop $5.5 Billion Funding Hate Littering’ for Affordable Housing Homelessness solutions
By Emily Kim Jenkins CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The papers were scattered across a neighborhood in Del Cerro. Before it was there, it was Allied Gardens, Santee, San Carlos. Throughout San Diego, flyers featuring antisemitic, hateful messages were littered at least eight times in 2023, according to state PHOTO: Courtesy of the Office of Assemblymember Chris Ward Assemblyman Christopher Ward. unanimously passed a resolution in its support. It passed the Assembly with only Ward authored Assembly Bill 3024, also three ‘no’ votes from Asms. Essayli (R – called the “Stop Hate Littering Act,” with Riverside), V. Fong (R – Bakersfield) and assistance and sponsorship from San Diego Gallagher (R – Chico). It was introduced City Councilman Raul Campillo, San Diego in the Senate on April 29 and must pass a Mayor Todd Gloria, and San Diego City ⅔ vote and be signed by the Governor to Attorney Mara Elliot. The bill was publicly become law. introduced on March 22 and on April 25, the San Diego Public Safety Committee See LITTERING page 6
funding also addressed
PHOTO: Courtesy of NNPA
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA NEWSWIRE SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT A housing crisis is gripping tens of millions of families nationwide, cutting across political lines and sparking bipartisan action in state legislatures. The root cause of the crisis is a chronic housing shortage, which has driven home prices up by approximately 60 percent after adjusting for inflation over the past decade. The staggering increase has left many families struggling to
afford rent or homeownership, and, according to recent data, around a quarter of renters, equivalent to roughly 12 million households, are spending more than half of their income on housing costs, far exceeding the re commende d one-third threshold for financial health. See HOUSING page 6
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