MORTGAGE RELIEF Webinar next Tuesday! Apply today.

Please join Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber in partnership with the Urban League of San Diego County and experts from @camortgagehelp for an informational webinar on April 26, 2022 from 6 p.m.-7 p.m.

Applications will be accepted through an online portal. Visit CaMortgageRelief.org and click on the "Apply Now" button to get started.

Register to attend and pre-submit questions: https://a79.asmdc.org/mortgage_relief by April 26th at noon.

CAREER-READINESS WORKSHOP ORGANIZED BY LOCAL NONPROFITS; YOUTH IN SAN DIEGO PROMISE ZONE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE

The series of events includes: 

• Job-Readiness Workshop (March 22, 10 a.m.-Noon) – A virtual workshop held via Zoom, in collaboration with SBCS and Second Chance, to provide resume-building and other helpful tips to prepare youth for employment. Youth ages 16 to 24 years old are encouraged to participate; register by visiting sandiego.gov/jobready.
• Virtual Job Fair (March 24,10 a.m.-1 p.m.) – Nearly 30 employers offering full and part-time jobs as well as internships, including the City of San Diego. Youth ages 16 to 24 years old can register at sandiego.gov/jobfair and participate via Zoom.
  • For job fair attendees without internet access, the City will provide in-person support at three locations: Park de la Cruz Recreation Center at 3901 Landis St., Sherman Heights Community Center at 2258 Island Ave. and the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library at 5148 Market St. Attendees will receive on-site computer access and technical help to allow them to connect virtually so they can participate in the job fair and leverage other SD Access 4 All resources. 
• F.A.N.C.Y. Teen Girls Expo (April 24, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.) – This in-person career expo, in collaboration with D.E.T.O.U.R. at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA, 151 YMCA Way, will help girls from elementary school age through high school explore career or academic interests in science, technology, education, arts and mathematics. Youth can register at sandiego.gov/careerexpo. 

Postcards Go Out to Registered Voters

 The Registrar of Voters has mailed over 1.9 million postcards to registered voters in San Diego County informing them of their voting options for the June 7, 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election.

This will be the first countywide election conducted under the Voter’s Choice Act. Under the act, every active registered voter will automatically receive a ballot in the mail and will have three options for returning that ballot: by mail, to one of the Registrar’s secure ballot drop box locations, or at any vote center in the county. Ballots will start going out in the mail the week of May 9, giving voters nearly a month to mark their ballot and return it before Election Day.

Voters also have the choice to vote in-person at any one of over 200 vote centers located across the county, which will be open over multiple days. Elections are no longer a one-day event, and there is no need to wait until Election Day to vote.

The concept won’t be entirely new to San Diego County voters. The Registrar’s office used a similar format for the November 2020 presidential general and September 2021 gubernatorial recall elections.

The Registrar’s office anticipates opening approximately 130 ballot drop box locations starting May 9. Over 200 vote centers will open for four days starting June 4. Nearly 40 of those vote centers will open earlier, May 28, giving voters 11 days to cast their ballots.

A list of ballot drop box and vote center locations will be available by April 1 at sdvote.com.

What do you need to do?

Be vote ready!

• ·Check your voter registration information.Make sure your residence, and if different, your mailing address is up to date.
• ·Have you recently moved or changed your name? Whether you’re new to San Diego County or just moved down the street, you need to re-register to vote. You can do this by completing a new registration online at sdvote.com.
• ·Are you a first-time voter? Register to vote– it takes less than two minutes.

Learn more about voting in the gubernatorial primary election at sdvote.com, call (858) 565-5800 or toll free at (800) 696-0136.

The Art of Johnny Montgomery on display at Seminole Nation Museum

By Windy Goodloe, Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery Association secretary

The Seminole Nation Museum in Wewoka, Oklahoma, is exhibiting Johnny Montgomery’s artwork in honor of Black History Month. Mr. Montgomery’s artwork is a rich and deeply personal exploration of the Seminoles and Black Seminoles. In honor of his exhibition at the museum, I had the pleasure of speaking with him about his work, his life, and his plans for the future. 

I was able to speak to Mr. Montgomery while he was at home in Charleston, South Carolina. And very quickly in our conversation, we covered the important facts. He is a Vietnam veteran. He was a paratrooper, 82^nd Airborne Division. Being in the military allowed him to see the world. But he is very proud of the people he descended from and the place where he grew up. He is Gullah. He grew up eating eel and crab and grits. He said eating alligator and racoon was not out of the norm. He, also, grew up eating the South Carolinian staple – red rice, which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

He began drawing at a very young age. When he would visit his maternal grandmother during the summer, he would spend his free time tracing farm animals. As a young adult, he took two years of art classes in college. These courses taught him the fundamentals of art, such as perspective and foreshortening. With this foundation in painting, Mr. Montgomery was equipped to begin his career as a fine artist, but he needed a subject.

When he learned about the Seminoles and Black Seminoles, he immediately began doing research on his own, consuming as many books as he could. He even attended a few Seminole Days celebrations in Brackettville, Texas, and visited with Miss Charles Emily Wilson and Mr. William “Dub” Warrior, who were the matriarch and patriarch, respectively, of our group. 

During our conversation, Mr. Montgomery spoke about how his heritage has informed his art by giving it a deep purpose. He calls his work “Cultural Art.” He has been painting the Gullahs, Seminoles, and Black Seminoles for more than half a century. His work is the culmination of decades of research. He is a historian in his own right. Mr. Montgomery uses his knowledge to paint history onto his canvases. He has single-handedly given us a vision of what our Seminole and Black Seminole forebearers may have liked like, from the perspective of a Black man. They are not depicted as “savages” or “slaves.” Instead, they are depicted as real people, who were strong, fierce, brave, and resilient. And this is why his work is so important and should be celebrated.

This exhibition came together with the help of Ms. Theressa Golden, who is a force in her own right. I had the chance to speak with her, and she said that, after Mr. Montgomery attended the Wewoka Sorghum Festival in October, the idea for his exhibition came about, and just a few months later, plans for his work to be displayed were in place.

In preparation for this exhibition, Mr. Montgomery said that he personally drove his painting out to Oklahoma. He said he has plans to attend our annual Seminole Days celebration in Brackettville this year, as well, and we are certainly looking forward to finally meeting him in person. Our museum was the lucky recipient of one of his paintings (“Battle of Lake Okeechobee”) a few years back, and we can’t wait to thank Mr. Montgomery for sharing his immense talent with us in person.

Mr. Johnny Montgomery’s art will be on display at the Seminole Nation Museum (524 S Wewoka Ave, Wewoka, OK 74884/phone: (405) 257-5580) until the end of February.