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Vol. 64 No. 35 | Thursday, August 29, 2024
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Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 64 Years
Black Men Emerge
INSIDE
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
As Key Constituency In 2024 Race SDBACD PLANS FOR MURAL INSTALLATION
SOUL FOOD COMEDY FEST
SEE PAGE 7
SEE PAGE 7
California for Kamala At DNC, state leaders rally around one of their own
Senator Laphonza Butler (D-California). PHOTO: Max Elramsisy
By Maxim Elramsisy and Antonio Ray Harvey CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for President of the United States on Aug. 22, the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
Harris, a former California U.S. Senator and Attorney General, needed the votes of 1,976 Democratic delegates to secure the nomination but exceeded that mark with 4,567 nods. If elected, Harris, an Oakland native, would become the first Black, first Asian, and first woman President. SEE PAGE 8-9
Panelists and attendees raise their fists during a Black Man Lab meeting to discuss the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Atlanta. PHOTO: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
By Matt Brown ASSOCIATED PRESS
get resources. The networking is always a good thing. It’s a fellowship, of sorts.”
Every Monday evening, the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA basement becomes a sanctuary for men who, local leaders say, have too often been denied one.
One recent meeting in the immediate aftermath of President Joe Biden’s suspension of his reelection campaign took on special weight as attendees considered the prospect of a Black woman winning the presidency. The candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris has refocused attention on Black men, a demographic that Democrats and Republicans view as persuadable but whose multifaceted experiences and political preferences often go unaddressed in public debate.
The Black Man Lab, which for nearly a decade has sought weekly to create a “safe, sacred and healing space” for Black men in metropolitan Atlanta, regularly gathers more than 100 men to pray, meditate and talk through challenges and triumphs they are facing and learn from peers and elders. “It’s almost a communion,” said Carttrell Coleman, a visual artist from South Fulton, Georgia, who has attended the weekly meetings for seven years. “It’s an opportunity for us to share our voices and
Harris’ campaign has also reignited discussions amongst Black men about their influence in this election. See RACE page 2
The State of Hate in San Diego County By Emily Kim Jenkins CONTRIBUTING WRITER California’s reputation precedes it. Ask anyone from a different region of the country and they’re likely to have an opinion about its government, its industries or its citizens, whether or not they have ever set foot in the Golden State. Even internally, split down an imaginary line, Southern and Northern Californians have lots of ideas about their neighbors on the opposite side. One of the more discordant characteris-
tics that comes alongside being the most populous state in the country—prejudice. Even with the flourishing diversity California is known for, hate continues to be a thorn in its side. A rise in hate crimes across the country has been recorded, and San Diego is no exception. Although hate events certainly do fluctuate as culture evolves, one reason for this increase may be that more efforts are being made to reach protected classes that may be targeted to encourage them to report hate acts, such as the CA vs. Hate initiative.
This summer, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office published the annual California Hate Crime report for 2023, documenting patterns the Department of Justice (DOJ) has seen in hate crimes. The Voice & Viewpoint analyzed the state report as well as data from San Diego County’s law enforcement agencies to see how San Diego compared. These comparisons, unless otherwise noted, are between 2022 and 2023. See HATE page 2 PHOTO: Kristian Carreon, CalMatters
Clues About Enslaved Gardeners in Unearthed Colonial-Era Garden By Ben Finley ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rendering for the reconstructed garden of John Custis IV at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a living history museum in Virginia. PHOTO: Courtesy of Rieley & Associates Landscape Architects/AP
Archaeologists in Virginia are uncovering one of colonial America’s most lavish displays of opulence: An ornamental garden where a wealthy politician and enslaved gardeners grew exotic plants from around the world.
The garden in Williamsburg belonged to John Custis IV, a tobacco plantation owner who served in Virginia’s colonial legislature. He is perhaps best known as the first father-in-law of Martha Washington. She married future U.S. President George Washington after Custis’ son Daniel died. “The garden may have been
Custis’ vision, but he wasn’t the one doing the work,” said Jack Gary, executive director of archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum that now owns the property. “Everything we see in the ground that’s related to the garden is the work of enslaved gardeners, many of whom must have been very skilled.”
See GARDEN page 2
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