Ready‌ Set‌ GO! Black San Diegans join the race towards balanced health and wellness! 4 Steps Towards Wellness Take the lead in creating health habits and practices that will benefit your life far into the future! You have your eye on the prize, now its time to take the stride. Keeping your body healthy is not hard or complicated. Our bodies carry us through our daily activities and taking small steps to reconnect with our bodies helps us attend to our needs in a more holistic way. Here are 4 practices to reconnect to your body and wellness: It is YOUR body The relationship you share with your body creates the foundation for how others will interact with you. When you are tired and not giving yourself time to recharge, other people notice these behaviors and follow suit. To create a dynamic where people are respective of your needs, you must portray that your needs are a priority. There are many ways that you can develop a relationship with your body that is healthy and reflective of your personal values.
Moving your body Get in tune with the rhythm and flow of your own body! How do you move your body when you are in a state of wellness? Do you let yourself go? Can you be free in your body? There is no model for being unapologetic in the body, and you have every reason to express yourself love for yourself in your own flow and sway. Open your mind to more learning You may have preconceived ideas around what your body should do or what it should look like but if these ideas are not in alignment with what you really want then EXPLORE! There are so many amazing ways to learn the body and to love the body. Open yourself to learning about what your body needs and how you can enhance your knowledge of what wellness means for your being. Awareness Wellness is listening to your body and being attentive to what works for you and what does not. You do not have to have a perfect practice, but it should enhance your relationship with your body and being.
The San Diego Monitor
3
RE-BRANDING
BLACK AMERICA
Leaders of tomorrow – Civil Rights Activists step up to the challenge Civil rights leader John Lewis is survived by a generation of changemakers, ready to take up the baton. These young leaders bring fresh perspectives to Black movement spaces and represent intersections of civil rights causes including policing, LGBTQ rights and social media. A movement that centers the humanity of Black people creates a safe space for their identities and self-concepts to become fully actualized. “You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone – any person or any force – dampen, dim or diminish your light.” Lewis’ words of wisdom seek to empower the next generation to take on the responsibility of healing and educating Black people and equipping them with the tools to lead their own lives. The movement for Black lives has always been a movement towards the liberation of all people, the leaders who will carry this work will embody the collective values of humanity. A strong leader creates an opportunity for those who follow to become great leaders alongside them. This alters the Black perspective on leadership and who is entitled to take on the responsibility of developing other leaders in our movement.
Instead of expecting one Black person to lead, teach and inspire there needs to be a collective agreement established on behalf of allowing all Black people to lead and to follow. There is room for a diverse and colorful range of perspectives regarding our push forward. If the true potential of the Black mind and experience is continuously overlooked, we are overlooking the leaders of tomorrow, ready to take on the challenge and influence great change.
Let them be ELEVATED It is an understatement to suggest that Black people are simply active participants in civil rights and social justice reform. These are the strategists, the organizers, the healers and teachers who provide our communities with the tools to understand how our lives are impacted by systems of domination and how we can overcome them in ourselves first. There is more than enough Black excellence in social justice and organizing spaces. In honor of the work pursued by leaders like John Lewis, we have to empower the leaders of tomorrow to step fully into their potential, to take on challenges in positions of power that can enhance their growth and development as a person and a leader. The leaders of tomorrow are inspired by the work put forth by the leaders of today. To uplift these leaders, they need to know that they are supported and loved. Not simply for what they bring to movement spaces but for the fullness of their experience and contribution to the push forward. Continued pg. 8
eimg
California is taking the LEAD The
California Endowment Board of Directors today
Uplifting Black Voices
announced it has approved a 10-year, $225 million pledge of funding support for Black-led organizing, activism, and advocacy in California.
The resourcing of activist, Black-led organizations to lead the critical efforts necessary to overcome racial injustice and inequity will help us all become healthy and well.”
“The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the AfricanAmerican community, in combination with recent tragic events of racial injustice, remind us that we must push further and harder to achieve meaningful systemic and structural change to advance racial equity,” said Board Chair Dr. Shawn Ginwright, professor of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University.
The 10-year pledge of support builds upon existing efforts by the Endowment to fund community organizing and activism in African American-led organizations across California, with a projected $50 million dollar increase in support in the coming decade. “We have witnessed extraordinary, unprecedented multi-racial and multi-ethnic support in the movement for Black Lives in recent weeks,” said President & CEO Dr. Robert K. Ross. “We also intend to enhance support to build and strengthen alliances that cross racial and ethnic boundaries in the state. California is poised to show the nation that by focusing on antiBlack structural racism, all vulnerable communities will benefit from structural change.”
The identified funding is a long-term commitment by The California Endowment to build and strengthen Black-Led organizations and organizing throughout the State of California. While there will be an immediate infusion of one-time funding support, the endowment has pledged a decade-long commitment of support to help sustain funding for organizations who are working to reimagine systems built on structural inequality and racism. “We are aware that structural racism in America constitutes a public health crisis,” said Board Vice-Chair Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the United Methodist Church. “Above all, we know that reaching health and wellness in the African-American community will require an investment that addresses the impact of centuries of oppression. But the healing of this community will contribute to the healing of every other community of color.
The Endowment also announced the immediate deployment of $5 million in resources to Black-led groups engaged in healthrelated racial justice battles now, such as criminal justice, juvenile justice, and policing reform efforts. The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental affordable improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people's health. At its core, The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. Learn more at www.calendow.org.
The San Diego Monitor
5
Difficult conversations in the black community Reimagining the role of the Black church – Connecting Spirituality & Politics Black Lives Matter organizers say the Black church does not serve as the organizing hub, haven and heartbeat for their movement that it did in the 1950’s and 60’s. It is yet another sign that the Civil Rights movement is undergoing a generational transformation, and is taking on the characteristics of the young, less traditional and decidedly fewer religious organizers now filling the streets. “The church tradition has been very much focused on a singular male leader,” Janaya Khan, international ambassador for Black Lives Matter, explained. “This movement that we have now in Black Lives Matter has been led by and informed by women, queer and trans people — you know, the despised of the despised.” Finding Common Ground The tension is emblematic of a larger, ongoing conflict between activists, religious centers and age groups. Some organizers feel alienated by parts of the Black church’s doctrines and people of faith are grappling with how to embrace the Black Lives Matter movement and all its members. Some members of the old guard Black churches say that dynamic has always been part of the debate between churches and movement leaders, or among churches, themselves, on the best way to get involved in the push for civil rights. “You don't get a civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s without the church,” said Raphael Warnock.
The senior pastor at Ebenezer Church and a Democratic candidate for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat. “When we see those marchers in the streets, that's literally the black church pouring out of the pews into the public square — singing, in order to redeem the soul of America.” The activists protesting the killing of George Floyd and racist policing today embrace the core message that informed the work of Black leaders in the 60’s and 70’s: civil rights issues are moral issues. There are some key differences between the current Movement for Black Lives, as it is known post-Floyd, and prior civil rights campaigns. While many Black churches were sites of planning meetings and safe havens for organizers, demonstrations in this era tend to find their center on social media, in the homes of allies or on the streets themselves. More, the decentralized structure of the Black Lives Matter movement runs counter to the framework of Black churches, which are often led by a single person or small group of people. And unlike most leaders of prior Black-led movements, Black Lives Matter is neither driven primarily by men. Women and members of the LGBTQ community are among Black Lives Matter’s founders. “I think the black church failed in terms of healing the issues of patriarchy and homophobia. And those two issues are fundamental to the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Cornel West, Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. “White supremacy [is] evil. The Black church historically has tried to hit it head-on and oftentimes has been magnificent. But male supremacy, homophobia and transphobia are evil too. They have got to hit those with the same level of intensity as they hit white supremacy. That’s the challenge and the test of the Black church these days.” Read more at https://www.politico.com
The San Diego Monitor
SDMNEWS Must Read
6
•
Campaign Filings and Responsibilities
2020 CA Census Guide
•
Candidate Intention Statement
•
Campaign Contribution Account
Table of Contents
•
Exceptions
Section 1: General Information (PDF)
•
Additional Filing Information
•
Initiative and Referendum Qualification Requirements
Section 3: Candidate Filing Information (PDF)
•
Candidate Qualifications and Information
• Required Filing Fees, In-Lieu Signatures, and Nomination Signatures
Section 2: Nomination Requirements (PDF) •
Presidential Candidates
•
United States Representative in Congress, and Member of the State Legislature Candidates
•
Nomination Documents – Nomination Papers and Declaration of Candidacy
•
Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee
•
Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee and/or Nomination Papers
•
Ballot Designations
•
In General
•
Write-In Candidates for the Office of President
•
Write-In Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices
8
The San Diego Monitor
On the path forward
Erika Andiola, migrant and refugee rights
It is not enough to speak of these leaders and their accomplishments in broad and generalized statements. There has been great progress made in Black America, and what cannot be overlooked is the strides that have been made by leaders who are still with us today, committed to the work with purpose and deliberation.
Arizona-based Andiola is also an undocumented migrant – as her Twitter handle declares. She has appeared on the cover of Time magazine with other US immigrants living without papers. She co-founded the Arizona Dream Act Coalition and is the Chief Advocacy Officer for RAICES, which provides education and legal services for immigrants and refugees.
Here are 5 leaders who are doing the work of today and preparing the leaders of tomorrow:
Michelle Alexander, prison reform
Melanie Campbell, youth and women’s rights In the 2012 election, black voters had higher rates of participation than white voters for the first time. Campbell contributed to this as a creator of the political leadership development program, Black Youth Vote! As the president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, she helps African Americans to become leaders in their communities. James Rucker, campaign creator Rucker is co-founder, now chairman, of Color of Change, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest African American online political organization”. The website creates campaigns and petitions on issues such as police reform and how social media deals with civil rights, using the internet to spread its message further.
In her bestselling book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander argues that strict drugs laws have disproportionately affected Black communities. It is a theme she has become an expert on as a law professor at Ohio State University. Her thesis, that prisons are the new system of racial oppression, has been highly influential among US civil rights campaigners and beyond. Van Jones, green jobs The economy is central to Van Jones’ vision of a better future for African Americans. A former White House green jobs adviser, Jones links social justice to environmental justice, emphasizing how carefully focused green policies can help bridge the blackwhite wealth divide, creating jobs for people of color. In addition to political commentary for CNN, he has helped found numerous campaigning organizations, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change.
Environmental Justice in Black communities The
Healthy Air Alliance, a California-based organization
committed to reducing environmental pollution, and the Rev. Dr. William D. Smart Jr., president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, cohosted a panel discussion on environmental justice July 23. Smart opened the discussion by highlighting the connection between the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental concerns already impacting Black communities. This discussion is important because, right now, we look at the risks of COVID-19 and see how the lungs of Black and Brown people are already infected with pollution,” Smart began. “Now there's a contamination that is furthering it.” Advocating for Environmental Justice Jamarah Hayner, president of the Healthy Air Alliance, moderated the Zoom event, bringing faith, social services, civil rights and policy leaders together to discuss solutions to health and environmental inequities in California. African Americans and other minorities living in the 10 mostpolluted zip codes in California are up to six times more likely to be exposed to harmful agents in the air than Whites, according to the American Public Health Association. Results from another study released by the Union of Concerned Scientists revealed that Blacks and Latinos are exposed to about 40 percent more particulate matter from cars, trucks and buses than white Californians. We have to do something right now to create a better environment for Black and Brown people in Los Angeles so that they can breathe better,” Smart continued.
“And so, this is a start. It's about how we can work together and come up with the resources and the programs that can better fix our communities.” Kip Lipper, Chief Policy Advisor for Energy and Environment for the California Senate Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) spoke on how communities of color tend to be left out of largescale environmental policies in terms of their day-to-day impact. If a person in South LA is paying more on their electric utility bill, or a higher cost for their transportation, because they are in a disadvantaged community, that has an impact on them. That is impact every bit as real on their pocketbooks as it is in their daily lives. This is a complicated area of law and policy that we work in,” he said. The panel also looked at state legislation that focuses on environmental justice solutions. Fabian Wesson, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer and Public Advisor for South Coast Air Quality Management District, spoke about her experience managing her organization’s AB 617 program. AB 617, a bill that passed in 2017, aims to improve air quality in certain communities by offering financial incentives to replace high pollution equipment such as lawnmowers and cars that use gasoline with zero-polluting machines like electric models and hybrids. “How do we keep the fight for environmental justice from stopping when the economic downturns come, when the attention stops focusing on Black Lives Matter, because it will,” she said. “It’s up to us to make certain that it does not stop. Because it is the people that count, and if we work with the people, then we can make this happen.”
Keep Black San Diegans in their homes! The San Diego City Council voted 5-4 on Tuesday to extend the
rent repayment period for commercial and residential renters to Dec. 30, giving renters who have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic a few extra months to repay back rent. Because the proposal did not receive six votes in favor, it will need a second council approval at a future meeting, according to the council's communications Twitter account.
Council President Georgette Gomez's initial motion Tuesday would have extended the repayment period for the eviction moratorium to March 31, 2021. Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell amended the motion to the December date as a compromise. On March 25, the council voted unanimously to begin an emergency eviction moratorium for renters. The moratorium requires renters to demonstrate through documentation that the pandemic has caused "substantial loss of income," according to city staff. Renters are also required to follow rules in leases, but landlords cannot evict a tenant for nonpayment due to COVID-19. The moratorium expires Sept. 30. If tenants are in good standing with landlords, they can work out a repayment plan for back rent through Dec. 30, but otherwise things could get dicey for tenants. “I am grateful that a majority of my colleagues agrees that we need to give tenants harmed financially by COVID-19 more time to pay their rent,” said Gomez. “We are deep into an economically devastating health crisis.
Residents are out of work. Small businesses are closed or suffering from lack of customers. This extension will give them added peace of mind. Now the federal government must step forward and provide more financial assistance to benefit renters, small businesses, and landlords.” Gomez represents District 9, which encompasses Southcrest, City Heights, Rolando and the College area. It has also been one of the most impacted areas during the pandemic. According to a member of Gomez' staff -- which gave the presentation on the topic -- the city had started 15,659 rental relief applications using federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds. Disbursements from that pool of relief money are scheduled to be handed out in late August or early September. Those funds will go directly to landlords, however, and not renters. Council President Pro Tem Barbara Bry voted no on the motion Tuesday, not because she didn't agree that people needed help paying rent, but because the arbitrary nature of the rental relief program could leave the city open for lawsuits, she said. She added that not enough renters know the impact of not paying rent. It's a cruel hoax," she said. Bry said that by not paying rent on time, tenants could be destroying their credit and leaving themselves with mountains of debt and no place to turn once the moratorium ends. What we did today was not helpful at all," Bry mentioned. Continued page 11.
11
The San Diego Monitor She added that while San Diegans need help to pay their rent, she pointed out under current state judicial action, no tenants can be evicted until 90 days after the state of emergency in California is lifted. "But this is an unfunded moratorium," she added. "This does not help tenants who need rent relief." She also said that the council should focus on demanding tenant relief at the state and federal levels, while also stressing the unintended consequences of not paying rent on time. If you do not pay it, you will eventually get evicted," she said. "Your credit rating will be ruined." In a statement Bry released Tuesday ahead of the vote, she also issued a call for funding for renters. In part she wrote: "What renters need is funding. Funding that only the federal or state government can provide. I urge my colleagues to join me challenging the state Legislature to support a funded eviction moratorium. The Legislature has both the power and financial capacity to enact a funded eviction moratorium. The Judicial Council acted specifically to give the Legislature time to act. The Legislature is back in session. They should act immediately to impose a funded statewide Moratorium. It is past time for the state Legislature to step forward, provide meaningful rent relief so renters can exit the moratorium without their finances being destroyed, and avoid foreclosures for hundreds of landlords. would like to amend the motion that this ordinance be conditioned on identifying funding for all renters." In a public comment period, several dozen San Diegans called in, many urging the council to extend the moratorium -- which was not the motion in front of the council -- and many to forgive rent and mortgages outright. About an equal number of landlords called in to urge the council to allow for evictions again, as many said they were paying two mortgages and not receiving income. “People are still not working," said renter Barbara Pinto, who is also a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Please remember that we are the victims of this pandemic, we are not the cause of it. How can people pay rent when they have no jobs?"
“This is not going to be able to help me pay my mortgage," said property owner Catherine Smart, who also called into Tuesday's council meeting. The repayment plan extension to December will pass a critical few month, including local, state and national elections. On Nov. 3, San Diego voters will select a new mayor and five new members of its city council -- something that could cause significant shakeup in how the city is run. "I think in three more months we will be able to tell better what the future holds," Campbell said. Councilmembers Chris Cate and Scott Sherman were opposed to the extension on legal grounds, as the gap between when the moratorium was passed to the date proposed in Tuesday's initial motion would have been more than a year. They claimed this could cause trouble for landlords trying to evict delinquent tenants or to collect back rent. Because the repayment extension passed with just five votes, it is susceptible to a possible veto by Mayor Kevin Faulconer. A sixcouncilmember vote would have made it ironclad.
Read more at www.sdmonitornews.com
WWW.SDMONITORNEWS.COM