July 4Th: with Liberty and Justice for All
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B2 THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE SUNDAY • JUNE 28, 2020 APATH FORWARD JULY 4TH: WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL BY STEVEN P. DINKIN found that when local police use from economic well-being to edu- “The time has come for an all-out force on a suspect, they’re more cational attainment to health world war against poverty. The Even though the July Fourth likely to shoot if that suspect is a outcomes. rich nations must use their vast holiday is around the corner, I’m person of color. If the suspect is Since the early 1980s, the total resources of wealth to develop the not thinking about red, white and White, police are more likely to use share of income claimed by the underdeveloped, school the un- blue. I’m thinking about a different alternative methods of force, such bottom 90 percent of Americans schooled, and feed the unfed. color scheme: black and white – as Tasers or police dogs. This has steadily decreased, with the Ultimately, a great nation is a and brown, too. pattern is mirrored in other Cali- majority of income gains going to compassionate nation.” I’m hoping this upcoming holi- fornia cities. the top 1 percent. King believed that racial in- day is very different from Memorial The reporting has been uneven, The Economic Policy Institute equality could not be defeated Day, when George Floyd lost his too. There’s been hardly a peep states, “Rising inequality might without first achieving economic life, igniting protests around the since the recent killing of Andres not be such a major concern if our equality. The result was the 1968 country. Floyd, a Black man, was Guardado, an 18-year-old Latino education, economic, and social Poor People’s Campaign, a multi- killed by a White Minneapolis man shot by two Los Angeles protection systems acted as com- racial, interfaith coalition motivat- police officer. In response, the County sheriff’s deputies. pensatory mechanisms, helping ed by a desire for economic justice. Black Lives Matter movement was Guardado, who produced a fire- individuals, and especially chil- It drew attention to poverty in our reborn. And this time, the usual arm and then ran away, was pur- dren, rise above their birth circum- country and gave voice to the poor. talk of police reform might actually sued on foot and shot six times. His AP FILE PHOTO stances and improve their mobili- Consistent with his belief in non- lead to concrete action. death follows the fatal shooting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ty. But that is hardly the case.” violence, King said that the highest Yet in San Diego, Blacks repre- earlier this month of Sean Mon- spoke of achieving economic America’s reputation as “the land patriotism demands that we open sent just 6.4 percent of the popula- terrosa, a 22-year-old Latino man. equality. of opportunity” seems suspect, a“bloodless war” to final victory tion. In our city, there are many Monterrosa was on his knees and with pockets of persistent poverty over racism and poverty. more Asians (16.8 percent) and had his hands above his waist because of immigration concerns —especially in communities of Idon’t know about you, but I Latinos (29.6 percent). Together, when Vallejo police officer Jarrett —despite fearing over-surveil- color. am ready to fight in a bloodless war those two groups represent a Tonn shot him through his wind- lance and use of excessive force. Then there are the stark dispar- on behalf of all people — Black, minority-majority, when com- shield. Tonn claimed that he be- Other members of the Latino ities in the health of our citizens, as White and Brown. pared with the White population lieved Monterrosa had a gun in his community wonder why the evidenced by COVID-19 racial In the spirit of July Fourth, it (43 percent). pocket. It was actually a hammer. killings of Latinos by police fail to data. According to NPR, deaths feels like the American thing to do. Unlike Minneapolis and many Because police departments generate the same level of scrutiny among Blacks from COVID-19 are other cities, we here in San Diego are not required to report consis- or outrage as the fatal shootings of nearly two times greater than Dinkin is president of the National Conflict have more than a Black/White tently on race and ethnicity, it is Blacks. would be expected, based on per- Resolution Center, a San Diego-based problem when it comes to uneven difficult to tell how many Latinos Iwonder that too. And while centage of population. In four organization working to create innovative policing. Our problem is multi- are killed by their officers, says Eric there is an undeniable and endur- states, the rate is three or more solutions to challenging issues, including colored. KPBS reporter Claire Rodriguez, senior vice president of ing pattern of discrimination in times greater. Latinos, too, make intolerance and incivility. NCRC is nationally Trageser reviewed San Diego policy and advocacy at UnidosUS. policing, we need to have a broader up a disproportionate share of recognized for its conflict management and Police Department use-of-force He believes that Latinos are less conversation about structural confirmed COVID-19 cases. communication strategies. To learn about records dating back to 2001. She likely to speak out, sometimes racism, manifested in disparities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com NOTEBOOKS From Union-Tr ibune reporting staff COURTS: KRISTINA DAVIS SAN DIEGO: JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH Confirmation of judges dragging on Story behind ‘Diary of a Recovery’ Ilast wrote about the judicial vacancies Both Matthews, a former federal prose- The ‘Diary of a recovery’ project started David Chau, who attended SDSU and at the San Diego federal court in Septem- cutor who is now a partner at the presti- on Monday, June 1. The San Diego Union- started Lotus Garden after escaping the Vi- ber, when President Donald Trump had gious law firm Jones Day, and Robinson, a Tribune’s new enterprise editor, Dan Beucke etnam War as a teenager. named all five nominees. 26-year career assistant U.S. attorney, held —pronounced Berky — had an idea to take Most recently, we spent time hanging The process to get them seated has been up well under the questioning. They fielded one block in San Diego and follow the people out with the folks who use the bus stops on slow going ever since. the usual inquiries about their experience living and working there as they struggled to University Avenue at 47th Street. We were On June 17, two nominees — Shireen and interpretation of the law, but also were recover from the coronavirus pandemic and surprised to find out that the Route 7 bus, Matthews and Todd Robinson — appeared asked about diversity and personal biases. the resulting economic lockdown. which runs between downtown and City before the Senate Judiciary Committee for Matthews, who is the daughter of an In- We chose the area around University and Heights, is now the busiest route in the San their confirmation hearings. If they are con- dian immigrant, said that a judge’s role in Euclid avenues in City Heights. It’s a low-in- Diego Metropolitan Transit System. firmed by the committee, which seems hiring law clerks was a key step to encour- come neighborhood struggling to bounce In our latest installment, Diary of a re- likely, then they must still win a Senate vote. age diversity in the courts. Robinson, who is back, like so many places in American right covery: A bus stop for riders who have few It’s unknown if that will happen before the White, also pledged to hire staff who are “re- now. But it’s also highly diverse and teeming choices in the pandemic, we talked to folks July 4 recess. flective of society as a whole” with diverse with all types of cultures and viewpoints. such as Roland Howard. The former pastor Three additional nominees haven’t been viewpoints and backgrounds. As we wrote in our first story, Diary of a re- from Michigan was attacked during a rob- scheduled for their committee hearings yet. The three nominees still waiting for covery: One San Diego block begins to climb bery and fought his way back to health over The hearing for Matthews and Robinson hearings are Adam Braverman, Michelle back from the pandemic: “The intersection of nearly a decade. Today, he uses a motorized was supposed to happen a week earlier, but Pettit and Knut Johnson. Euclid and University avenues is starting to wheelchair and uses public transit. He said live-streaming issues caused it to be post- Braverman and Pettit are federal prose- vibrate again with car engines and waves of he even found his church through a bus poned. The nominees testified virtually cutors while Johnson is a prominent de- rap music rumbling under conversations in driver who’s also a preacher. from San Diego due to the coronavirus pan- fense attorney. None of the five seem contro- Chinese, Cambodian, Thai, African dialects, As we wrote in the story: “The neighbor- demic, an interaction that Sen. Dianne Fe- versial picks, unlike some of the others Spanish, English and Arabic. hood is full of people like Howard — older, instein, D-California, called “a bit artificial.” nominated by the White House. “A young Latina mom walks her toddler many with disabilities, many who have no “I like to see how they react,” she said of down the sun-baked sidewalk. A Black man choice but to use public transit even in the having nominees in front of her in person.