PSN's Larry Wilson reports from a Tuesday conference at the Pasadena Musuem of History (co-presented by Altadena's own Michele Zack) called "The Integration of PUSD: How it Happened by Many of the People who Made it Happen & Its Legacy Today." It's a pretty checkered history whose ripple effects we still feel to this day. High points of the story for us:
- Newport Beach was called "Altadena by the Sea" in 1975 because so many had fled there to avoid integration. (But why "Altadena," considering our town is 30-some percent black?)
- A reactionary school board during that era tried to make John Birch Society material required reading.
It's quite a tale. Check it out!
michele Zack said…
Most people don’t realize that in 1960 Altadena was less than 4 percent black. We went through convulsive racial change in just over 10 years: Half the people left (white) and were replaced by people of color. Read about it in Altadena: Between Wilderness and City, (chapter 10)
Wednesday, June 04, 2008 at 03:28 PM
Altadenablog said…
I am embarrassed to tell you (of all people) that I haven’t read that far in my copy! Thanks for the historical perspective, Michele!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008 at 04:57 PM