OB Rag

By Joni Halpern

Antonin Scalia, the late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, was fond of reminding people that he and other American children of immigrants were not responsible for slavery. His folks had emigrated from Italy, he said; they had nothing to do with the subjugation of Black people in America.

This was not the only point on which the revered Justice was grossly ignorant, despite his celebrated intellect, but it was a point he shared with many of us white Americans.

For nearly 400 years, with very little interruption, we white people have taken refuge in this and other morally bankrupt justifications for how things have turned out for yesterday’s and today’s Black Americans. And even today, most white Americans allow Black youth and their supporters to march without our visible presence behind them, allowing them to bear the full brunt of rage by police departments desperate to remain as they are, militarized and polarized into an “us-versus-them” idea of their role in our communities.

Police argue they are doing all they can.

Alexander Is the Founder and President of Pillars of the Community

By Jim Miller

As the activism and protests in response to the murder of George Floyd intensified both nationally and locally last week, I thought I would check in with my City College colleague and community activist Khalid (Paul) Alexander, whose work with Pillars of the Community (insert link: https://www.potcsd.org) puts him in the heart of the struggle to break down institutional racism in the criminal justice system and elsewhere in San Diego on a daily basis. Here he speaks to the work of his organization and the deep inequities Pillars of the Community is struggling to address.

Question: Tell me about Pillars of the Community? What kind of organization is it? What inspired you to found it? What kind of work do you do in the community?

Answer: Pillars of the Community is an organization dedicated to advocating for people who are negatively targeted by law enforcement. We do this advocacy through community building and policy work.

At least 400 people joined a rally near the foot of Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach Sunday as part of a “Paddle Out” in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

The rally broke up and a minimum of hundred people jumped into the choppy waters with their surfboards, making a large circle once they all made it past the breakers. All photos by Bob Edwards.

There’s a coalition of San Diego organizers who are organizing in response to the police violence and disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on black and poor communities. The Community Budget Alliance.

A big part of their platform is the People’s Budget and they’re asking people and groups to email the Mayor and City Council this weekend. See the letter here.

Also, here’s their introduction:

Here are pics that depict the “end of an era” – a time before many of the restrictions on the beach were lifted, before you could put your tush back on the sand – and perhaps the beginning of a new normal – getting back to surfing and being responsible on the beach and water – captured by Charles Landon the weekend of May 30.

But, is it the end of an era, or just a lull? Here’s hoping there’s not a second wave.

By Giovanni Russonello / New York Times / June 5, 2020

Beyond the scenes of protest and resistance playing out in cities across the country, a movement of a different sort has taken hold.

The American public’s views on the pervasiveness of racism have taken a hard leftward turn over the past few years. Never before in the history of modern polling have Americans expressed such widespread agreement that racial discrimination plays a role in policing — and in society at large.

Driven by the Black Lives Matter movement, this shift has primed the country for a new groundswell — one that has quickly earned the sympathy of most Americans, polling shows. As a result, in less than two weeks, it has already forced local governments and national politicians to make tangible policy commitments.

By Judi Cury (written on June 4 )

As a mother of three, grandmother of 18 (including 5 “greats”) and as an opponent of people owning guns for reasons other than hunting, I am faced with something I never thought I would have to reckon with in my lifetime.

I can already hear people saying “what about the 2nd amendment?” and my answer is that that amendment was written a long time ago, when carrying a gun was a safety measure. I have never been able to fathom people carrying rifles, for example, for purposes other than hunting for food to put on the table. I am violently opposed to killing animals for trophies; I am opposed to people killing people as well. I am against most guns of all kinds.

Two things happened today that have caused me unrest – along with the Corona Virus, and the horrible murder of George Floyd. I received the following message this evening:

“Tomorrow is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, when people across the country will wear orange to show that they are part of the fight against gun violence in America.”

The people who do G.I. hot-line counseling across the country, veterans’ groups and G.I. rights organizations are condemning the use of the National Guard in the George Floyd protests occurring nationwide. Meanwhile, some G.I.s are telling these counselors they will refuse to comply with orders directing them to go to the cities where protests are happening.

Here is the statement by the the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild:

Statement opposing use of National Guard against anti-racist protests

The Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild strongly condemns the use of National Guard and active duty troops to police anti-racist protesters. ,

On Sunday, June 7, there is a paddle out in Ocean Beach for Peace and Unity in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. It’s at 9 am at the OB Pier near the front of the Lifeguard Station.

It’s being hosted by a group called We Be OB and here is what their facebook says:

A skateboarder was found dead in the street on the 4500 block of Voltaire Street in OB around 10:30 pm Thursday evening. And as of the latest report from 10News, it may have been a hit and run.

Police and media initially reported the person was a “pedestrian” with “a crumpled skateboard nearby.”

San Diego police were called to the site after a call came in around 10:30 that there was a man lying in the street.

Check out these photos, taken around 7:15 pm tonight in North Park. Thousands marched from downtown near the SDPD station up to North Park and along University Avenue.

After six days of protest in San Diego and a week and half across the nation, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and many local law enforcement agencies up and down San Diego County announced Wednesday they would immediately ban the use of the carotid restraint. Two days earlier the San Diego Police Department stated its officers would no longer use the chokehold or neck hold.
Those agencies are:

• Carlsbad Police Department
• Chula Vista Police Department
• Coronado Police Department
• El Cajon Police Department
• Escondido Police Department
• La Mesa Police Department
• National City Police Department
• Oceanside Police Department
• San Diego Community College Police Department
• San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
• San Diego Harbor Police Department
• San Diego Police Department
• San Diego State University Police Department
• San Diego Unified School District Police Department
• University of California San Diego Police Department