EMPOWER SAN DIEGO

The forum between community leaders was meant as a first step toward working collectively on issues.

January 26, 2012, San Diego, CA—The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint took their mission of providing both Africans and African-Americans with news about their communities in San Diego a step further by hosting a forum to engage these communities in dialogue at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. The theme of the evening was heard from speaker after speaker: although the two communities are different, they share many common challenges. And together, they can work towards solving them.

Dr. John Warren, moderator and publisher of Voice & Viewpoint, started the forum with a video of images from modern African countries. According to Warren, showing photos of urban cities instead of only the African wildlife commonly portrayed in TV and movies reminded the audience that “...we are dealing with modern concepts and people.” Warren segwayed into introductions of people sitting on the panel.

The panel featured both African and African-American leaders in the San Diego community including Walter Lam, president and CEO of Alliance for African Assistance and Gerald Brown of the United African-American Ministerial Action Council. Warren was quick to point out that only one woman was present (Lei-Chala Wilson, president of NAACP’s San Diego branch). Efforts were made to get women to speak at the event, but cultural issues in the African community prevented female participation. Warren refused to discuss the issue, but many expressed their interest in a forum with women speakers. A audience member suggested a “forum for women by women,” should be arranged. After hearing multiple requests for a similar forum with women participants, Warren promised Voice & Viewpoint would continue efforts to find female speakers for future dialogues.

The forum itself was organized to be “a discussion, not a monologue” (as described by Warren). Although there was a panel speaking about issues they deemed important in the community, some time was left afterwards for audience participation. People were invited to speak at the mic or write comments and questions on cards for someone to read later. There were many people lined up to speak and the note cards were not read. However, Warren concluded the major concern written about was education.

Other issues discussed were crime, racial profiling, health, teaching ethnic studies, voting, policy change, domestic violence, integration, unemployment, language barriers and finding housing. Some of these issues did not affect both groups—language barriers and integration strictly affected African communities—but the panel stressed the importance of working together to solve all of these issues. As one audience member put it: “The first person that stood on his hind legs was on the highlands of Kenya. So really, we are all African.”

No solutions were offered or planned out. However, Warren announced at the beginning of the event that this forum was not meant to be a planning meeting. Instead, this meeting would be a starting off point for work between the two communities. Some audience members expressed frustration concerning a lack of solutions. Warren reminded the audience that “We can’t eat the entire elephant tonight—we just brought it in the kitchen. We can only take a tiny slice.” The tension in the room diffused as the audience exploded into peels of laughter.

Future forums like this one are in the works, including a mayoral debate in March which will also be moderated by Warren. All candidates for San Diego mayor will be invited. For more information on future events, and to also read news written from the perspective of San Diego African-Americans and Africans, visit the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint’s website.

by Lara McCaffrey, Community Action Reporter, EMPOWERStudents!