Minnie Lee Jordan-Diallo can’t help but feel the divide when she talks to people around Lathrop.
With the city literally split in half by California’s arterial interstate, and the majority of new residential development occurring far away from the historic heart of the city, tensions, she said, are rising among some longtime Lathrop residents who feel like they’re being left behind.
And she wants to change all of that.
On Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Highlight Church of God in Christ – located at the intersection of Lathrop Road and Rev. Maurice Cotton Drive (Jordan-Diallo is the granddaughter of the late Rev. Cotton) the entire community is encouraged to come together for a citywide prayer service aimed at bringing people from opposite sides of town together in unity.
“I just hear a lot of people talking about how the new police department is probably going to be out in River Islands and there’s a new fire station going in out there and you can notice that there’s tension from some of the older residents,” said Jordan-Diallo, who is hosting the event along with Mother Minnie Cotton and the rest of the church congregation. “And we’re facing our own battle here as we try and make sure that my grandmother can still get into the church that her husband built.
“There’s just a lot going on in town and around the world and it seemed like the right time to bring people together in prayer.”
According to Jordan-Diallo, Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal said that he will be attending the event, and representatives from Lathrop Police Services as well as the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District are also scheduled to attend. She has also extended an invitation to Susan Dell’Osso, the project director for River Islands, to help try and bridge the gap.
The church itself is currently working with the City of Lathrop to try and find a way to provide easy access to elderly members of their congregation that will no longer be able to park in front of the church on Lathrop Road now that the widening project will take away several parking spaces that allowed for her grandmother to make it to services.
With so much going on, she said, it seemed like the right time to bring Lathrop residents together to remind everybody that at the end of the day they’re all a part of the same community.
“It doesn’t really matter where we live – what side of town that happens to be on,” Jordan-Diallo said. “At the end of the day we’re all Lathrop, and that’s what this is going to be all about.”
The gathering will take place at the corner of Lathrop Road and Rev. Maurice Cotton Drive and access will be limited from the front of the church because of the ongoing construction project.
Refreshments will be provided for those who attend.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.