50¢
www/facebook.com/ SDVoiceandViewpoint
Plus Tax
@VoiceViewpoint
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO 585 SAN DIEGO, CA
“People Without a Voice Vol. Vol.57 59No. No.35 6 | | Thursday, ThursdayFebruary August 7,31,2019 2017
..
Cannot be Heard”
Serving San Serving DiegoSan County’s DiegoAfrican County’s & African African American & African Communities American 57 Communities Years 59 Years
SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL CHAIRWOMAN ANNOUNCES
Work Plan for Her Committee
celebrating
Black History Month Featuring local and national articles and information highlighting our rich African American heritage. See page 12
See page 10
SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT
By Staff Writer
turns 59 and throws a big party
Voice & Viewpoint
San Diego City Council member Monica Montgomery, the new chairperson of the Council Committee on Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods, has outlined the “Priorities and Work Plan” for 2019. The goals and priorities with the expectations identified for each area highlighted is more impressive than President Trump’s State of the Union Address. The following are highlights from her “State of the Committee Address”: The Committees will require Policing Reform and Accountability, which she says will allow “this crucial committee to enact meaningful change across
By Helen O'Field
See page 10
At 59, the leading, lowest-priced (50¢, yet), weekly newspaper in San Diego County is a powerhouse of opinion, news and photojournalism. Helmed by publisher-editor Dr. John Warren, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint (V&V) is part of a 192-yearold national network of African American newspapers, covering people, events and issues generally ignored by other papers and mass media.
Examples: The death by fire of the Brazilian National Museum. The death of Zimbabwean music legend Oliver Mtudkudzi. An in-depth look at the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the story-behind-the-story of the famous "Dream" speech. And those troublesome stories about voter suppression, "driving while Black," and multiple shootings of young Black men.
See COMMITTEE page 2
See GALA page 8
THE AMERICAN DREAM
A New Era of Mrs. Viola Justice Seekers Griffin THE PASSING OF
Remains Deferred
for Black Millennials “As I entered my 30s, still navigating what achieving the dream would mean, I wondered what other black millennials were feeling. I wanted to figure out what my generation of Black Americans thought about the promise of the American dream and how we can attain it,” said Reniqua Allen, the author of “It Was All a Dream.”
See page 7
Anthony Graves, Wrongfully Convicted Death Row Inmate, Gives Voice to Voiceless The Anthony Graves Smart Justice Speakers Bureau is the only program of its kind in the nation. The program works with qualified persons to help reduce recidivism and to encourage entrepreneurship and academic development through a 12-week training program, that is taught on the Texas Southern University (TSU) campus. By Jeffrey L. Boney NNPA Newswire Correspondent
By Stacy M. Brown
Imagine spending nearly two decades in prison for a crime you never committed. Even worse, imagine spending 12 of those years behind bars on death row.
NNPA Newswire Correspondent
Keli Hammond, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Advertising from Temple University and a certification in Change Leadership from Cornell University, noted that race has a way of humbling dreams quite fast.
For African American millennials, the dream remains deferred – and in some cases, is a nightmare. “The American Dream, the idea that anyone can succeed through hard work, is one of the most enduring myths in this country. And one of its most prominent See DREAM page 2
’ “” & See page 13
That is the story of former Texas death row inmate Anthony Graves, whose case garnered international attention after he was
Since August 23, 1992, Anthony Graves has been behind bars for the gruesome murder of a family in Somerville, Texas. There was no clear motive, no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, and the only witness against him recanted, declaring again and again before his death, in 2000, that Graves didn’t do it. See JUSTICE page 2
The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint takes deep and personal note of the passing of Mrs. Viola Griffin. Although her obituary is included in this week’s issue, it could never fill in the story of meeting and spending time with this remarkable woman. We at the Voice & Viewpoint met her when she was in her 90’s. She was still driving and shopping and getting her chores done before sunset because she no longer drove at night. She could often be found at HomeTown Buffet having a late lunch, sometimes with others, sometimes by herself. She was a very independent woman Mrs. Griffin was an active member of the Mt. Zion MissionSee GRIFFIN page 2