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Vol. 62 No. 8 | Thursday, February 24, 2022
www.sdvoice.info
Serving San Diego County’s African & African American Communities 62 Years
Featuring local and national articles and information highlighting our rich African American heritage.
We Mourn the Passing of Dr. Dorothy Smith
Local Legend in Black History
SEE PAGE 12
San Diego Black Com!x Day!
SEE PAGE 6
By Dr. John E. Warren Publisher
The community of San Diego, the State of California, the nation, and the world has suffered a deep and penetrating loss with the death of Dr. Dorothy L. Smith. Some will remember her as a lifelong educator, who not only taught in the California Community College District for more than 20 years, but a woman who was the first African American woman elected to public office as a member of the San Diego Unified School Board in 1981. She served eight years on the Board of Education and as its President, twice during that time. See SMITH page 8
Black B lack History H i story
The late Dr. Dorothy Smith, pictured here on Sunday, March 3, 2019 after receiving the San Diego Women’s Hall of Fame Trailblazer Award for having been the first African American woman to be elected to public office in San Diego and for her distinguished service advocating for equal educational opportunities for SDUSD students. Photo: Rochelle Porter
Activities
BLACK AND INDIGENOUS:
When the Way You Look Doesn’t Match Expectations By Phyllis Kimber Wilcox Black Voice News
Discussions related to the status of Black Indigenous people in relation to the broader Indigenous community received little focus in November, Native American Heritage Month. Negotiating an AfroIndigenous identity can be difficult when
SEE PAGE 20
Young woman of the Muscogee Wampanoag tribe in the documentary, We Still Live Here: Black Indians of the Wampanoag Tribe. Photo: Via YouTube
the way you look doesn’t meet expectations or popular media depictions of Indigenous communities. In discussing the way people’s perceptions of what it is to be Indigenous and the conflict with appearance in the documentary, Black Indians An American Story, a woman spoke about comments others make
PUBLIC HEALTH ORDER & Covid-19 Updates SEE PG. 10
Covid-19 cases in southeast 11,189
17,558
16,874
19,145
13,997
9,029
92102
92105
92113
92114
92115
92139
SOURCE: County of San Diego a/o 2/16/22
regarding the way she looks, “[Y]ou don’t look like a native American,” she’s often told. Not appearing Indigenous is just one of the challenges they face from colorism within tribal groups, to recognition of their contributions. See EXPECTATIONS page 8
Expo Brings the Black College Experience to Local Youth
Hundreds of high school seniors, juniors, and prospective transfer students found culture and opportunity as they learned about the many options for higher education at the 5th Annual Black College Expo on February 17, 2022. Hosted by Bayview Church in collaboration with the San Diego County Office of Education and the National College Resources Foundation, over twenty HBCUs were among the colleges represented. Photo: Darrel Wheeler. See full article on page 11.
VOTING RIGHTS:
Where We’ve Been, Where We Are Now By Cori Zaragoza Staff Writer “At 90 years of age I never thought that I would relive that period again.” That was Ms. Kathleen Harmon’s response when asked about the state of voting today, and how she feels we’re going backwards to a time before the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 90-year-old activist and advocate for voting rights was interviewed on the importance of voting during a Town Hall with California’s Secretary of State, Dr. Shirley Weber, held on February 8, 2022, at San Diego State University. See page 9
www.sdvoice.info
SOS of California, Dr. Shirley Weber, speaks on the importance of voting rights at a Town Hall held at SDSU on February 8. Photo: Via SOS Facebook.
