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Vol. 64 No. 22 | Thursday, May 30, 2024
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Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 64 Years
VOICE & VIEWPOINT TOWN HALL SPARKS CONVERSATION ABOUT
HOW THE LAW HANDLES HATE By Emily Kim Jenkins CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The room was buzzing with hushed conversation as attendees filed in. The Voice & Viewpoint’s yellow banners declared “California is for everyone” in bold print surrounding a podium where publisher Dr. John Warren sat, preparing to moderate. On May 23 at the Southeastern Live Well Center, representatives of law enforcement agencies and community based organizations (CBOs) gathered to discuss how LEAs are handling reported acts of hate. The theme of the event was Law
Enforcement: Identifying Victims of Hate and Finding Healing Solutions. The conversation also continued discussions from April’s Town Hall. Jurisdictions from top down were covered, with representatives from federal agencies such as the FBI, the District Attorney’s office and the local San Diego Police Department present. Community representatives from groups such as Little Saigon San Diego and the Haitian Bridge Voice & Viewpoint publisher John E. Warren looks on as Elizabeth Lou of the Nile Sisters Development Alliance also were also present. See TOWN HALL page 2
Initiative takes to the microphone to share some of the challenges she’s seen in identifying and handling hate in immigrant and refugee communities, May 23, 2024 at the Southeastern Live Well Center. PHOTO: Emily Kim Jenkins/Voice & Viewpoint
THE IMPACT OF HATE ON INSIDE THIS WEEK'S ISSUE: MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH: Voice & Viewpoint hosts 4th Biscuits, Grits & Politics Town Hall
BIG-CUTS GRAND RE-OPENING SEE PAGE 7
By Macy Meinhardt and Emily Kim Jenkins VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER Biscuits Grits and Politics is back with a bang this summer! Bright and early Tuesday morning, community members gathered at the George L. Stevens Center to enjoy a Voice & Viewpoint signaturediscussions on critical issues in the community over coffee, fellowship, and of course, savory biscuits, grits, and catfish. The panel-led discussion featured the County’s Director of Behavioral Health, Luke Bergmann; Co-Founder of Urban Restoration Counseling Center, Janel King; and CEO of the Nile Sisters Development Initiative, Elizabeth Lou.
PHOTO: Rochelle Porter/Voice & Viewpoint
“Very few people understand that there is a connection between behavioral and mental health issues, and the element of hate that is presented to the various groups that we look at,” said Publisher Dr. John E. Warren on the significance of the event.
GRANDPARENTS CONNECTION GALA SEE PAGE 10
Reported hate crimes in the City, for instance, went up by 74% in 2023, according to the latest report by the San Diego Police Department. Most of these crimes targeted individuals’ ethnicity. Input from these community leaders therefore underscore the urgent need to address and implement mental health services curated for communities that are often victims of hate crimes.
ETHIOPIAN COMMUNITY CENTER HOME BUYER SEMINAR
See HEALTH page 2
SEE PAGE 8
THE STORY BEHIND HISTORIC DONATION TO SDSU BLACK RESOURCE CENTER First-generation chinese family donated $5 MIL to the Center this past March By Emily Kim Jenkins CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Gus Thompson, pictured above commandeering a stagecoach in the mid-1880s, was born into slavery and built a name for himself by using his resources to support others in need. PHOTO: Miriam Mathews Collection
Gus Thompson was born into slavery sometime in the early 1860s. The city of Coronado was founded shortly thereafter, in 1880. Two years after that, in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was ratified, the only immigration law ever enacted to explicitly exclude a certain nationality. In 2024, San Diego State University’s Black Resource Center received the largest donation in the center’s history in the names of Gus and Emma Thompson. See DONATION page 2
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