Editordude: Local journalist Paul Krueger, a resident of Talmadge — and an occasional writer here – has objected to recent KPBS coverage by reporter Katie Hyson of a meeting of San Diego’s Historical Resources Board on efforts by Talmadge residents to achieve historic designation by the state for their neighborhood.
Krueger was particularly disturbed by KPBS’ headline of “Residents seek to preserve former ‘whites-only’ neighborhood as historic district,” because it was “terribly misleading and needlessly inflammatory,” as he stated in a letter to KPBS, which he shared with the Rag and is posted below. BTW, the city’s Historical Resources Board approved the nomination of Talmadge by an 6-2 vote at its most recent meeting.
Dear Katy,
I’m a resident of Talmadge, but don’t live in that portion of the neighborhood that’s the subject of your story.
I did … attend the meeting, and I do support the proposed designation of those Talmadge blocks as a state/federally recognized historic district.
But I’m writing you — a fellow journalist — to express my grave misgivings about the wording of the headline for your story. (I do understand that you very likely did not write the headline.)
The headline is terribly misleading and needlessly inflammatory.
It prompts even the most knowledgeable reader to infer that those who support the designation are ignorant of the former racial restrictions on ownership in their neighborhood, don’t care about that now-outlawed ownership restriction, and/or haven’t clearly acknowledged the harm those restrictions imposed on people of color.
In fact — as you know from your research and the detailed application submitted by proponents — the sponsors of the proposed designation were the ones who documented those outdated racial covenants, renounced the intent and consequences of those exclusionary laws, and clearly explained how and why such covenants were common in San Diego neighborhoods before the courts properly ruled them unconstitutional.
It’s extremely unfortunate that the headline for your article clearly — though I trust unwittingly — infers that the proponents of historic designation for this Talmadge neighborhood are attempting to ignore, minimize, obfuscate, or, even worse, seeking to memorialize or “preserve” the intent of those odious racial restrictions.
The very harmful misconceptions generated by the headline could have easily been avoided by the use of more neutral and accurate wording. Among the more appropriate choices for a headline are these:
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- “Critics Oppose Historic Designation for San Diego Neighborhood”
- “Critics Cite Past Racial Restrictions in Opposing Historic Designation”
- “Critics: Former ‘Whites-Only” Restrictions Should Sink Proposed Historic Designation”
- “Does Former ‘Whites-Only” Neighborhood Deserve Historic Designation?”
Fair, accurate and balanced journalism requires fair, accurate, and balanced headlines.
For this story, the most accurate summary of the underlying controversy informs readers that this proposed designation is controversial because critics claim its former “whites-only” restrictions are sufficient reason to deny the application.
As an aside, it doesn’t appear that you wrote a follow-up story about the outcome of last week’s meeting, and I don’t know if you attended or listened to the discussion and voting. If not, I urge you to do both.
The comments on racial covenants made by Carla Farley, one of two BIPOC board members (both of who supported the designation) are especially compelling, as is the comment by board member Ann Woods about Kumeyaay lands.
You can watch the hearing on the city’s YouTube page here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN8nA-2WX7w)
Sincerely, Paul Krueger — Talmadge Resident
You don’t have to look too far in 92107 to find vestiges of our racist past. When I bought my little 900 square foot, 80 year old Portuguese fisherman-built house on Chatsworth, the documentation from the title company included old covenants which allowed racial minorities to work on the property but not own or live on the property. The covenants allowed certain “farm animals” but no racial minority humans.
We’ve come a long way in 80 years, now I have two wonderful black families living on my block.
We should acknowledge and learn from our past but words matter. News articles should be informative, not inflammatory or misleading. We should celebrate our progress and not wallow in the sins of our forebears.
Very well said, Paul. Who knew KPBS would choose to be so biased? Donations are halting.
Thanks very much, Frank, for publishing my letter. I hope it gets a conversation going on this issue.
I was disappointed, but not surprised that no one at KPBS has acknowledged receipt of my letter, much less defended or even explained their choice of words for the headline.
We can only hope this article and the conversation it promotes well force our publicly-supported tv and radio station to engage in a public dialogue about the article and the pushback it’s received for its wording of the headline and other misstatements pointed out by other critics.
We’re all very fortunate to have the OB Rag as an active voice and local journalism. Keep up the good work!
The editor of KPBS should be dismissed for publishing such a misleading headline. I have been researching the history of the City of San Diego for 54-years, twenty-four of which as founder of Legacy 106, Inc. in which we submitted about 200 historical nomination reports. The lending companies and banks of the 1920s had policies to restrict loans to Caucasian people on nearly all transactions all across the City of San Diego. The real estate companies also severely restricted sales to Caucasians. This changed after a series of Supreme Court Decisions in the post World War 2 years and now such discrimination is illegal and Un-Constitutional. Historical designation is pursued uniformly by people of all ethnicities and gender persuasions and nothing in any community plan or zone in the City of San Diego restricts anything by ethnicity or gender. What we do NOT want to do is erase history such that people today do not see American history for what it is and was in our past.
Ron May, thank you. San Diego used to be one of the most racially segregated cities on the west coast – and yes, many, many deeds had those abhorrent racial restrictions across San Diego. For a long time, African-American families could not buy property north of what’s now 94.
The missed opportunity for a real social justice story lies in Katie Hyson interviewing Wes Morgan (Communication Chair for YIMBY Dems) in his 2.5 million home in the high resource historic community of Mission Hills. Katie Hyson should of asked Mr. Morgan why he and the YIMBY Dems supported housing segregation when they approved of the off-siting of affordable housing units to lower resource areas in the Complete Communities package recently passed by the City Council?
OB Rag Publisher(s):
As a Chicano and OB Rag reader & supporter who values your progressive opinions I am offended and dismayed that you would publish the opinions of an active supporter of residential segregation. The author has been fully informed of the history he is trying to protect and how it further entrenches segregation of his all white neighborhood – yet he remains undeterred in his racist actions. I hope the OB Rag will no longer publish this author or I will withhold my support for your online periodical & encourage others to do the same.
Ricardo Flores, Kensington
Okay, some of us are aware of your stanch views that see any criticism of Gloria’s housing policies or of the SD Housing Commission as racist, and that you label any efforts to protect older neighborhoods against top-down and anti-democratic and authoritarian pushes by developer-aligned forces as NIMBY and therefore racist — well, now, that’s just over-the-top BS; as I really resent the threat that you’re making – and BTW I don’t recall any way you’ve ever offered any support to the Rag over the 16 years we’ve published. (As far as I know this is the very first time you’ve stopped and made a comment here.) The “author” you refer to has a name and it’s Paul Krueger who is a well-known journalist here in town. And while I don’t agree with all of his perspectives, Paul has done more than many in this town in mobilizing a grassroots pushback against Gloria et al.
Thank you so much for this pushback, Frank. The YIMBY party line is so over the top. They don’t mind pushing the “affordable” component of developer housing requirements to poorer neighborhoods (redlining 2.0) but if you don’t embrace radical density next door to your home or abandon all historic preservation, you’re a racist. Rubbish! These guys are going to cost Dems elections.
Any property with older homes in San Diego could have racial restrictions. The Title company (in my limited experience) will remove them when issuing Title to a new owner. This designation has everything to do with when it was last sold, and the original records remain on file. Presumably, they will all eventually disappear from current titles.
The KPBS editor who allowed this “article” to be published should indeed be dismissed. The inflammatory title, questionable “facts” and overt bias demonstrate a lack of fair and objective journalism. It’s also very peculiar that the YIMBY spokesperson who Ms Hyson interviewed, Wes Morgan, benefits from the very “privilege” he admonishes while living in his 2.5 million dollar home in Mission Hills. How can we ever move towards a mutual solution for affordable housing when the YIMBY playbook falsely paints those as racists & elitists who don’t align with their extreme agenda? And it’s even more obtuse of KPBS to condone this conduct!
I can’t believe that my thousands of dollars in donations and support for KPBS have enabled this toxic culture to corrupt what was once considered a reputable news source.