Pasadena Black History Month Magazine - February 2024 | Pages 9 & 10
BLACK HISTORY MONTH: A UNIQUELY AMERICAN STORY
PASADENA HAS ITS STORY!
Another example of Pasadena coming to grips with its less than noble past is the monument that you will soon witness within the largest development in the history of Pasadena, 10 West Walnut Street (The Old Parsons Company site) in District 3. The developers of that site, Lincoln Property, as a part of its Development Agreement, has designed a monument to the African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Latino Americans who had their thriving businesses and lands bereft from them under the guise of Urban Renewal. The monument will consist of at least 7 stations of story boards providing some details of this sad history, but will culminate with a much larger grouping of stories in a key location within the new development. Certainly the developer must be commended for its leadership in fostering truth and reconciliation.
"...PASADENA HAS AND CONTINUES TO OCCUPY A PROMINENT PLACE IN BLACK HISTORY AND CORRESPONDINGLY IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
The 2021 Black History Month theme, "The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity," reminds us of our role in every child's upbringing. From their first moments of life, children depend on parents and family to protect them and provide for their needs. Every parent knows that it is sometimes difficult to do this important work without help, support and resources from the Pasadena village. Accordingly, the City of Pasadena considers itself part of your extended family and prides itself in generating opportunities for childhood education, recreation, healthy growth through its libraries, parks, Summer Rose Youth Employment Program, community partnerships, and financial commitments, particularly via its Community Development Block Grant program. This Black History Month, let us meditate and act upon the prophetic words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from the Birmingham Jail:
"In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men (women) are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until I am what I ought to be... . This is the inter-related structure of reality."
There is no better time than now for us to study, live, and enjoy Black History, our uniquely American History. Happy Black History Month!