Cross' 17-year legal battle stems from religious roots

By Joanne Faryon / Investigative Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 28, 2006 at 9:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

People gathered at the Mount Soledad Cross Monday to remember this nation's fallen soldiers. The symbol has fueled a seventeen year legal battle. KPBS Reporter Joanne Faryon explains, the cross's ardu

People gathered at the Mount Soledad Cross Monday to remember this nation's fallen soldiers. The symbol has fueled a seventeen year legal battle. KPBS Reporter Joanne Faryon explains, the cross's arduous past is marked by vandalism, violent weather and even the Ku Klux Klan.

Old newspaper clippings tell the story of the Mount Soledad cross. It begins in 1913.

The first was dragged up the mountain for early morning church services. Ten years
later, it was stolen. That same year, a much more sinister cross stood there. A 1923 article describes it as a huge flaming cross, a calling card from the Ku Klux Klan. In 1934, another cross was erected. Twenty years later, it was destroyed by high winds. The current concrete symbol was dedicated Easter Sunday, 1954. The San Diego Union writes, the cross will be the scene of Easter sunrise services in future years. City leaders did not anticipate the cross' most grueling challenge to date, a 1989 lawsuit questioning a religious symbol on city owned land. Joanne Faryon, KPBS News.

Joanne Faryon

twitter

As an investigative reporter, Joanne Faryon worked with the team of journalists at inewsource, a nonprofit journalism enterprise embedded in the KPBS newsroom. Faryon has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist, working in a print, radio and TV. She previously worked in Canada and the U.S., specializing in investigative reporting. During her time at KPBS, Faryon served as reporter, host, and producer for both TV and radio. Among her many stories and investigations is the 2010 look into the effectiveness of the Whooping Cough vaccine. The series of in-depth features lead the Centers for Disease Control re-examine their reporting and change their guidelines. Faryon’s work has been honored by the USC's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism with the Walter Cronkite Award for political journalism. The prestigious honor was for the Envision special, “Who’s Supervising San Diego?” – an in-depth look at the County’s Board of Supervisors. Faryon has also received an honorable mention from the National Press Foundation in 2010 for an in-depth look at the state's prison system as part of the Envision series. In addition, Faryon has earned two regional Emmys and several awards from the San Diego Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. Her Canadian honors include a Manitoba Human Rights award for meritorious service for her investigative work on the Ku Klux Klan and right-wing extremism in Canada. Joanne has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Winnipeg and a creative communications diploma from Red River College.

See stories by Joanne Faryon