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Vol. 64 No. 26 | Thursday, June 27, 2024
www.sdvoice.info
Justice for In-Custody
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 64 Years
INSIDE
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
Deaths in San Diego
WORLDBEAT FREEDOM WALK SEE PAGE 4
County Jails Continues Advocates, family members, and former law enforcement continue the conversation
2024 FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS
CELEBRATING GRADUATES!
SEE PAGES 12-13
SEE PAGES 8-11
California 2024 Budget Agreement Includes
Reparations Funding Bills Implementation Victim Services and more, included By Joe W. Bowers Jr. CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA
In a move supporting vulnerable communities, the 2024 California budget agreement has earmarked $103 million in one-time funding for victims’ services programs. This allocation is designed to compensate for federal funding cuts and ensure continued support for crime victims across the state.
San Diego Central Jail in downtown. PHOTO: San Diego County Sheriff’s Office
By Macy Meinhardt VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER It has been three years since the state of California released an inflammatory audit report regarding the 185 deaths in San Diego County jails from 2006 to 2020; a rate exceeding more than any county in the state.
Grace Glaser of VALOR, a member of the California VOCA Advocacy Alliance, a statewide coalition of organizations dedicated to supporting survivors of crime, advocates, and their communities, praised this move, stating, “Gov. Newsom and the legislature have temporarily stitched [the safety net] back together with their commitment to one-time backfill funding, ensuring that for now, victims will receive support during the most traumatic and dangerous times of their lives.”
“The high rate of deaths in San Diego County’s jails compared to other counties raises concerns and suggests that underlying systemic issues with the Sheriff ’s Department’s policies and practices have undermined its ability to ensure the health and safety of the individuals in its custody,” the audit report states, signed by Michael S. Tilden, Acting California State Auditor. See DEATHS page 2
PHOTO: Courtesy of CBM
See REPARATIONS page 2
The Missing Pieces Project Holds
“Panel of Legends” Showcase on Juneteenth VOICE & VIEWPOINT STAFF On Juneteenth, an enthusiastic and eager audience gathered at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park to witness The Missing Pieces Project’s Juneteenth Celebration "Panel of Legends". The purpose of the Juneteenth event was to help the community connect the “missing pieces” in San Diego’s rich African American history, with a larger goal of creating the first San Diego African American History digital exhibit.
Sponsored and hosted by the San Diego History L to R: SDBCC's Bruce Mayberry, SDHC's Wendy McKinney, PHOTO: Courtesy of the Henry Foster (D4) on June 19, 2024 at the San Diego San Diego History Center Center, in partnership with the San Diego Black Councilman History Center. PHOTO: Courtesy of the San Diego History Center Chamber of Commerce, the event included a distinguished group of speakers who brought a lively and and launched for the first ever digital exhibit proposing to be informative discussion on San Diego’s Black History. Panelists installed in February 2025. included Dr. John E. Warren, Kevin Ashley, Dee Sandford, Cheryl Morrow, Yvette Porter Moore, and Gil Johnson. Their The event was emceed by SDBCC’s Bruce Mayberry, and SDHC’s insights were invaluable in enriching the dialogue and helping All-In Community Collector, Wendy McKinney. A proclamato bridge historical gaps as the missing pieces were compiled tion was issued by the City of San Diego to The Missing Pieces
Project, in honor of San Diego’s Juneteenth Celebration Day. For more information, or to submit your own missing piece of San Diego’s African American History, visit https://sandiegohistory.org/ or contact Wendy McKinney at wmckinney7@gmail.com.
With Laughter and Tears, San Diego County is Taking on Alzheimer’s Experts Speak at San Diego County event
By Emily Kim Jenkins CONTRIBUTING WRITER The George Stevens Senior Center was buzzing. The coffee was flowing and Curtis Mayfield’s undeniable toe-tapping melodies were playing. From the laughter around the room, it may not seem like an event covering topics such as Alzheimer’s disease and racial disparity, but underscoring the entire morning was a sense of hope. On June 20, Take on Alzheimer’s, a branch of the California Department of Public Health, organized “Take on Alzheimer’s in San Diego County,” bringing together county officials,
research organizations and caregiver advocates. Dr. Wilma Wooten, retiring the next day as San Diego County’s Public Health Officer after 23 years, shared about the disproportionate impact Alzheimer’s has on minority communities. “Experts… are keenly aware that women in communities of color are at a disproportionately higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Wooten said. “Tragically, fear and stigma often prevented many from seeking information, assistance, or a diagnosis until those diseases progressed.” See ALZHEIMER'S page 2
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Community leaders and Alzheimer’s experts gather to take a photo with Dr. Wilma Wooten. PHOTO: Emily Kim Jenkins