Sep 15, 2020
Ms. Lopez-Villafana & Ms. Schroeder
San Diego Union-Tribune
600 B Street, Suite 1201
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Ms. Lopez-Villafana and Ms. Schroeder,
On behalf of NAACP San Diego Branch, I write to thank you for your excellent reporting on redlining in San Diego. Your reporting is vital. It helps our region understand how our governmental entities sponsored and subsidized segregation.
While we were disappointed that your reporting did not incorporate our organization’s current efforts to stop the perpetuation of segregation in the region’s largest subsidized housing program, we appreciate your reporting. We would be happy to speak with you about our advocacy. Our advocacy centers on the City’s Section 8 program, which includes the neighborhoods identified in your article and impacts 56,000 low-income individuals.
Earlier this year, we expressed to LISC how dismayed we were at LISC’s refusal to include in their draft segregation op-ed, which included NAACP San Diego Branch’s logo, even a reference to the pending litigation on racial segregation. LISC refused to acknowledge the litigation because the CEO of the local governmental entity perpetuating the segregation at issue, San Diego Housing Commission, was on LISC’s board.
Social justice movements will not succeed if the wrongdoings of governmental entities are censored in an effort to appease nonprofit governing boards made up of the very governmental actors committing the wrongful acts.
I hope you continue to shed light on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Francine Maxwell, President
NAACP San Diego Branch