‘District 4 deserves better:’ Volunteers endure heat to cleanup southeast San Diego
Nearly 20 people collected broken glass, chip bags and other waste in an effort to spark lasting community change.
Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Maya Srikrishnan
Braving the 87-degree weather, Roosevelt Williams III and his 4-year-old son spent their Sunday afternoon picking up trash alongside Euclid Avenue.
When they reached a tree well across the street from the Elementary Institute of Science, a jacaranda shaded a pile of broken glass, takeout food containers and tattered plastic bags. Within minutes, the pair scooped it all into trash bags as part of a neighborhood cleanup the Diamond Business Improvement District and the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce organized.
Throughout the afternoon, drivers and pedestrians passing by thanked the volunteers for cleaning up the neighborhood. Williams said he joined the effort to inspire others — especially his son — to take pride in their neighborhood, adding that “District 4 deserves better.”
“This community is in a state of depression,” Williams said. “There's really no industry in this community, housing is out of reach…That's where their spirit is. So we’re picking up trash to clean the community and hopefully clean the minds of the people.”
Williams and his son joined a multigenerational group of nearly 20 people who grabbed trash bags and gloves to clean up several blocks near the Market Creek Plaza. Many of the volunteers trekked down Euclid Avenue and Market Street, with some climbing into the brush-covered hillside to pull garbage out.
“I think it's important because it's something that goes overlooked often,” said Cymone Williams, one of the volunteers. “[We're] showing that people do care about this environment, this community. It's a start.”
The Diamond Business Improvement District — one of the designated areas receiving city funding for activities and development — covers businesses in Chollas View, Encanto and Lincoln Park. That includes Side Chick on Federal Boulevard and Marisco's German Sea Food on 47th Street, as well as those in the Black Arts and Culture District on Imperial Avenue, like The Block Club and The Mental Bar.
The district was previously managed by the Diamond Business Association, but in 2023, the city ended its contract citing high staff turnover and limited community support, Voice of San Diego reported. The city’s Economic Development Department temporarily managed the Diamond BID before transferring oversight to the Black Chamber of Commerce.
Jazzmin Austin, a Diamond BID advisory board member who owns Jazz’d Up Hair, said the district went largely unmanaged for about five years until the recent turnover.
Without strong leadership overseeing it, she said many businesses in the area faltered. While there used to be nearly 200 Black-owned businesses in the district, Austin said they’re now down to around 60. Volunteers said many store fronts have sat vacant for years, including the shuttered Church’s Texas Chicken on Market Street next to a sidewalk where they cleaned Sunday.
“If our goal is to attract more tourism businesses, why would they want to come to this area when they can go somewhere else that may have more businesses, more foot traffic, better curb appeal?” Austin said.
Working with the Black Chamber of Commerce, the board aims to revitalize business in the area. While Austin hopes it can someday mirror communities like North Park or Little Italy with more high-end restaurants, bars and lounges, she recognizes that the district faces challenges, including the long-lasting effects of redlining, gentrification and residents moving away from southeast San Diego.
A 2023 Urban Displacement Project study found that gentrification and rising housing costs have caused a high displacement risk in southeast San Diego, which historically has had large concentrations of Black and Latino residents.
Local demographic changes mirror statewide trends. Last year, CalMatters reported that between 2000 and 2024, California’s Black population shrank by more than 4%, while Black homeownership across the state declined 6% over a similar period.
But that’s part of what drives Austin’s local advocacy.
“People don't really see a desire or a need to come to this area — they leave,” she said. “I feel like if the conditions were better over here and we had more stuff over here, I definitely think that more professionals that look like me or business owners would come to this neighborhood.”
The group collected about 22 bags of trash on Sunday, in addition to other waste that Austin pushed for San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System to collect along the trolley tracks and other sites by city staff.
Jerome Baldwin, membership and BID manager for the Black Chamber of Commerce, said Sunday’s turnout reflected the community’s dedication to caring for its neighborhood. He noted residents continue to show up for cleanups, mixers, monthly meetings and other events to work toward lasting improvements at The Block Club, a nonprofit gathering space on Imperial Avenue.
“Everybody knows one of the issues we have in today’s world is we’re not very organized, we don’t have much community,” he said. “This shows that this district, this neighborhood has community, there just needs to be a call to action for it.”
