F.A.N.C.Y. Teen Girls Expo a

By Amara N. Beaty VOICE AND VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER

A sunny Saturday at Valencia Park Elementary is what set the scene for yet another successful year for the DETOUR Empowers F.A.N.C.Y. Teen Girls Expo. Over 200 girls from kindergarten to the twelfth grade were seen laughing and dancing, and the Southeast community definitely showed out to celebrate and uplift our incredible, beautiful and joyous young girls. Girls adorned in afros and afro puffs, colorful box braids, beads and barrettes were seen all over Valencia Park’s blacktop. Music was played all day, setting the stage for tons of dancing, including the family-get-together classics the Cupid Shuffle and the Wobble.

“Events like these are needed in our community,” says a community member in attendance at the Expo. “They provide a safe place for our girls and our children to be themselves and, beyond that, resources for our kids and even ourselves.”

Workshops were set up throughout the day to encourage, inform, and support all of the girls from elementary to high school. There was also a parent-geared workshop that helped the adults to learn how to best support our LGBTQ+ youth.

The expo was jam-packed with over 40 vendors in attendance in cluding the com munity favorite Write Juice Truck, the San Diego Fire Department and the ABC Youth Foundation.

DETOUR Empow ers, spearheaded by Founder & Executive Director Tinesia Conwright, is a program that has continued to mentor our young girls of col or, aiming for “equity and inclusion” for teens in higher education and priority sector em ployment. The Focused And Naturally Confi dent Youth (F.A.N.C.Y.) Leadership programs include Saturday’s annual Expo, their Leader ship Academy, and Ambassador Internships. The 2023 Teen Girls Expo was definitely a year for the books!

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, there was a mural unveiling of Johnny Ritchey at San Diego High School near the entrance of the SDHS baseball field.

The San Diego Padres commissioned artist Andrea Rushing to paint a mural of the legendary and groundbreaking baseball player Johnny Ritchey who broke the color lines in the Pacific Coast League a few months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Major Leagues. Ritchey was the Padre’s first Black player and a professional baseball catcher.

The mural unveiling was a surprise gift to the Ritchey family, students, and the community. Ritchey is recognized as one of the first African Americans to play Minor League Baseball in the twentieth century.

Johnny Ritchey was born on January 5, 1923, and graduated from SDHS where he played baseball. He also was a pre-law student at San Diego State, where he also played baseball. Ritchey was called to military service, leaving SDSU to serve as an engineer in the army during WWII. He earned various medals for his service.

He won batting titles in both the Negro Leagues and Minor Leagues.

Johnaa Ritchey Battle, the daughter of Johnny Ritchey stated “We are proud and grateful that ‘Pop’ is getting the recognition and honor he is getting now and should have gotten when he was playing baseball. It is a result of his perseverance and character. My father had a strong character, and drive to persevere. He believed we should always be [good people].”

Johnny Ritchey passed away on January 14, 2003, and has been honored on various occasions. Ritchey was recognized for integrating the PCL & there is a bronze bust in Petco Park Commemorating Mr. Ritchey. Some of the people in attendance were family members; John Talley (son), Johnaa Ritchey Battle (daughter), grandchildren Carlee Battle, Cameron Turner, and son-in-law Carlos Battle. Community members and elected officials in attendance were SDUSD Superintendent Dr. Lamont A. Jackson, School Board member Richard Barrera, SDHS Principal Franny Del Carmen-Aguilar, SDHS Alumni Association, SDHS Foundation, and the Padres organization.