U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, second from left, visited Charles White Park in Altadena Jan. 28 to see firsthand the devastation left by the Eaton Fire. Waters said she will fight to marshal federal resources on behalf of Altadena residents.
Photo by Karim Saafir
By Janice Hayes Kyser
Contributing Writer
ALTADENA — Retaining this community’s Black working-class roots and longtime residents — attributes which make Altadena unique — may be among its greatest challenges as the town nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains seeks to rebuild from the devastating Eaton Fire.
The fire broke out Jan. 7 and burned more than 14,000 acres and damaged more than 1,000 structures before fire officials declared it 100% contained Feb. 1.
In the aftermath of the blaze, many are left wondering what’s next for the historically Black section of Altadena west of Lake Avenue that bore the brunt of the devastation. It was a place where many African Americans owned their own homes and businesses and worked hard to create a vibrant culture and sense of community.
Now, some fear the fire may have also ravaged generational wealth, family heirlooms while creating a hazy future for this once peaceful symbol of Black middle-class prosperity.
Confronted with the realities of an aging population living on retirement incomes — the majority of the town’s residents are 65 and older — developers eager to gentrify the area, rapidly rising real estate costs and inadequate insurance make the prospect of rebuilding financially and mentally daunting for some residents who spent a lifetime making memories here.
Still, Veronica Jones, who heads Altadena’s Historical Society, and has called the town of 42,000 home for more than four decades, believes the community’s resilience will prevail.
“We are a community that looks out for one another,” Jones said. “We are connected and caring. It’s the kind of place where no one would leave their block until they knew their neighbors were out, too. We are going to stand and fight to rebuild what made our community special, but we are going to need help that takes into account our past, present and future.”
Elected officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger — who is the defacto mayor of the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County — have promised to help Altadenans rebuild and put safeguards in place to protect them, community activists and academics agree that the cultural and financial realities of the Black population must be considered.
Once as high as 30% Black in 1970, today Altadena is just under 20% African American.
“Supervisor Barger recognizes and appreciates the unique realities in Altadena and how special the community is,” said Helen Chavez Garcia, spokesperson for the supervisor. “How many people in L.A. County can say they own their homes?
“What exists in Altadena is rare. Supervisor Barger is committed to making sure that doesn’t change.”
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, who visited the Altadena area Jan. 28, says she will fight to marshal federal resources on behalf of Altadena residents. In addition, she says state and local officials need to do their part to address soaring real estate prices, predatory practices and insurance inequities that make rebuilding challenging.
“I know people need a lot of help,” said Waters, who is committed to fighting for those African Americans who she acknowledges lost not only their homes, but a part of their individual and collective histories. “In spite of the political climate I am optimistic and hopeful. In order to make progress everyone has to come together. In addition to government resources we have to tap into the expertise in the Black community.”
A recent report by UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, found that systemic inequalities and redlining practices contributed to fire vulnerability and impacts in Altadena. Their report calls for disaster recovery strategies that are equitable – prioritizing not only immediate restoration but also the sustainability of historic communities, which remain among the most vulnerable to disasters.
While Jones says Black people have lived in Altadena since the 1800s, the majority of the area’s Black residents arrived in the 1960s as a result of urban flight, redlining, the quest for affordable housing and plans to extend the Long Beach (710) Freeway in Pasadena that forced some Blacks to seek residence in neighboring Altadena. In addition, Jones says affordable housing and an attitude that was more welcoming to Blacks than many other L.A. suburbs, also contributed to the Black history of Altadena.
It’s that history Pastor Lucious Smith, who heads Pasadena’s oldest Baptist Church, Friendship, Pasadena Church, is passionate about preserving. Smith, 65, who was born and raised in Pasadena and subscribes to the “Dena” motto, that the neighboring communities of Pasadena and Altadena are one, says he and other community activists are ready to “stand in the gap” to ensure the voices of Altadena’s residents are heard.
In order to do that, Smith says he will serve as part of a group created by Pasadena activist and political consultant, Lena Kennedy. He says the group of Black religious, political and business leaders will act as a “think tank,” to help ensure policies and programs that benefit Black Altadenans remain high on the agenda.
“Right now, everyone is saying they are going to look out for Altadena, but as time goes on its almost inevitable the dynamic will change and capitalism will show its face in some way, shape or form,” says Smith, adding that 17 families in his church lost homes in the Eaton fire. “More than promises and dollars, we need action that ensures those who have been in the community for three or four generations do not get the short end of the stick.”
Smith says those involved in the restoration of Altadena must incorporate the lessons learned from other natural disasters that displaced Black people, such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, to make sure Black Altadenans, many who are staying with family and friends as well as in local hotels, are able to return to their community.
Beyond making sure Black Altadenans come home, Kennedy, a Pasadena native with local, state and federal connections, says rebuilding offers an opportunity to honor the area’s rich African-American history.
The town was once visited by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, who came to persuade Altadena resident, lawyer Clarence B. Jones to join his legal team. Futuristic sci-fi author Octavia E. Butler, who grew up in the area, is buried in Altadena’s Mountain View Cemetery.
Altadena also boasts a park named after famous African-American artist, Charles White, whose work chronicled Black history.
“It’s about protecting our heritage, history and property,” Kennedy said. “Our mission is to bring together the expertise to help Black residents of Altadena make the best decisions for themselves that also benefits us as Black people in the long-term.”
Activist and community development expert, Jacquelyn “Jackie” Dupont-Walker, also part of the think tank working to restore Altadena, puts it this way.
“This is a wake-up call,” she said. “We as Black people can not sit back and expect others to do for us. It’s time for us to call on the spirit of our ancestors of coming together and showing we have got what it takes. It’s time to be faithful and available, not to grow weary.”
Janice Hayes Kyser is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers.
