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Vol. 64 No. 25 | Thursday, June 20, 2024
www.sdvoice.info
Remember
JUNETEENTH
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 64 Years
INSIDE
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
and Why We
Celebrate By Dr. John E. Warren PUBLISHER
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS GALORE! SEE PAGES 7-9
News of the Emancipation proclamation signed by President Lincoln, freeing the slaves, took two and a half years to reach Texas. History reflects that by the time General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas with the announcement on June 19, 1865, President Lincoln was dead, the Confederate Capitol at Richmond had fallen and the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery had passed the Congress.
From Refugee to Changemaker:
See JUNETEENTH page 2
PHOTOS: Public Domain (top); Darrel Wheeler (bottom)
State of Black California
Appears to be a Reparations Issue
Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus convene meeting at Crawford High School
The Inspiring Story of Elizabeth Lou By Tihut Tamrat CONTRIBUTING WRITER “Let them give,” said Elizabeth Lou, Founder and Director of the Nile Sisters Development Initiative in addressing the most persistent challenge she faces running her nonprofit organization in City Heights, San Diego. Funding has become a recurring nightmare for the Nile Sisters as their competitors are white-male led organizations who have an advantage and “people who are advocating for them, their voice can be heard,” asserts Lou. Elizabeth Lou, refugee from Sudan, mother of five kids and to the community around her, does not have that same Lou, Founder and Director of the Nile Sisters advantage. Lou’s journey began in Sudan, where she and Elizabeth Development Initiative. PHOTO: Courtesy of Elizabeth Lou her family had to flee due to violent flare-ups of Civil Wars between rebel groups and the government causing mass displacement. Lou’s husband, contracted for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a highly coveted position resented by rebel groups put in a successful transfer to Kenya in hopes for a peaceful life.
California Legislative Black Caucus members (R-L) Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber, Senator Steve Bradford, and Assemblymember Mike Gibson at The CLBC’s State of Black California San Diego . PHOTO: Macy Meinhardt/ Voice & Viewpoint
See LOU page 2
By Macy Meinhardt VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER “We are at the brink of changing history in the state of California, where California goes, the nation follows,” said Assemblymember Mike Gibson (D-65) at San Diego’s State of Black California event. Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus came to Crawford High School last Saturday as one of their first stops across California cities to educate Black Californians on the current policy agenda towards achieving reparations. Apology, acknowledgement, atonement. These three are the leading objectives at the heart of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) reparations agenda. The series of panels featured
a presentation of Black San Diego demographics, policy efforts, reparation eligibility, and a Q&A session with CLBC members Senator Steve Bradford, Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson (D-60), and Assemblymember Mike Gibson (D-41) .
tion, and economic opportunity that lingers from the historical enslavement of Black Californians. In January, the caucus announced a series of bills that aims to comprehensively dismantle the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.
“The call for reparations is not merely an acknowledgement of past wrongs. It is a moral imperative. A recognition of the debt owed to Black Californians who have suffered and persevered in the face of systemic oppression,” said Assemblymember Dr. Akilah (D-79) who hosted the June 15 event.
Members of the CLBC caucus stressed that despite public perception, California was never a free state. The study produced by the Reparations Task Force documents the expansion of slavery into the West, and how enslavement practices were perpetuated regardless of California's status as a “free-state” and loosely enforced anti-slavery laws.
The Misconception of Black California The debt is in accordance with deep rooted inequalities in housing, healthcare, educa-
“This is not the greatest nation in the world just because of happenstance. It was because of over 300 years of free labor, by people who look like me, who suffered and toil and lost their lives in
order to build this nation,” said Senator Bradford. In approaching the first step towards acknowledgment, Assemblymember Dr. Weber put forward a bill titled ACR 135— “Acknowledgment of Gross Human Rights Violations and Crimes Against Humanity on African Slaves and their Descendants” As one of the 14 bills put together in the caucasus reparations package, this measure would “acknowledge the harms and atrocities committed by representatives of the State of California who promoted, facilitated, enforced, and permitted the institution of chattel slavery and the legacy of ongoing badges and incidents of slavery that form the systemic structures of discrimination.” See REPARATIONS page 2
There’s a New Fire Chief in Town, Meet Robert Logan II
Lifelong District 4 Native rises the ranks and lands San Diego Fire Department Chief “I look forward to leading our dedicated Fire-Rescue Department team with integrity and compassion, and ensuring it remains a pillar of safety, support, and unity for all San Diegan,” Logan said in a statement on his appointment.
By Macy Meinhardt VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER On June 12 Mayor Todd Gloria announced the new Chief of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, Robert Logan II.
Logan was appointed the chief position by Mayor Todd Gloria after a three month nationwide recruitment process that yielded a candidate pool of over 70 applicants. “Deputy Chief Logan brings with him an exceptional blend of experience, leadership and vision that I believe is essential for guiding our department into the future,” said Mayor Gloria at the June 12 press conference.
Logan has worked with the San Diego fire-rescue department for 24 years, serving as fire engineer, fire captain, Battalion Chief, and currently, Deputy Fire Chief. Logan’s position will start in August once current Chief Colin Stowell retires, where he will oversee the 1,200-plus San Diego Fire Rescue workforce. In this upcoming role he states he looks forward to advanced training, community engagement, and integration of modern best practices and technology to enhance emergency service responses. His appointment marks a new chapter for the department, the Mayor says. Logan is the third Black fire chief to serve in the City of San Diego since 1889 and the first in over two decades. John
Delotch was the first in 1985, followed directly behind Robert E. Osby in 1992. Growing up in Southeastern San Diego, Logan says he faced adversity in almost every corner of life. “I faced challenges and obstacles up on every door I tried to open as a young child, as an adolescent, and as an adult,” Logan said. “I cannot help but think of four-year old Robert Logan, who used to sit in the window and watch fire trucks go back and forth with lights and sirens. I've never forgotten the impact of those moments as they pertain to all like me who look out the window of opportunity,” Logan shared. See LOGAN page 2
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