Happy Black History Month, friend!

Black history is older than California history here in San Diego, stretching back over 200 years.

Despite a storied past, Black San Diegans have had to fight for their rights for centuries — struggling for freedom, equality, and well-deserved recognition in a fight that remains ongoing.

Before decades of red-lining pushed Black families into southeastern San Diego, Black communities thrived across San Diego in neighborhoods like La Jolla and Downtown. This month, we celebrate the resilience of our community and the leaders who have helped create a beacon of Black culture and entrepreneurship in our neighborhoods, as well as those who paved the way for them.

Starting with Don Pio Pico, a Black elected official who served as the last Governor of Mexican Alta California in 1820, to the pioneering America Newton, who helped found San Diego a century later, to today’s entrepreneurs and community leaders, the history of Black San Diegans is profound and ongoing.

But preserving our history also means preserving our neighborhoods. As we just passed the one year anniversary of the San Diego floods that brought unprecedented devastation to many historically Black neighborhoods, we hope you’ll join us in donating to the San Diego Flood Response Fund: www.sdfoundation.org/community-impact/impact-areas/crisis-philanthropy/san-diego-flood-response-fund/

We hope you’ll help us continue to make history here in San Diego County and shop at Black-owned businesses in celebration of all the progress made and the successes still to come.

Thank you for honoring the storied history and bright future this month represents.

More soon,

— Team Monica

Born and raised in San Diego, Monica Montgomery Steppe is an HBCU graduate, and an attorney by trade. Monica believes in her heart that the neighborhoods and community members are vibrant and worthy of care and investment. To learn more about Monica and the work she's doing for District Four, click here.

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Paid for by: Montgomery Steppe for Supervisor 2023
FPPC ID # 1460285
3295 Meade Ave, #212, San Diego CA 92116