Guest Opinion: Pasadena Councilmember John J. Kennedy | Black History Month: A Uniquely American Story

Black History Month honors the influence and contributions of African Americans to United States history. Black History is, and has been since the beginnings of our great country, American History! The observance evolved from “Negro History Week,” which was announced and created by renowned historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1926. Since 1976, every U.S. President has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.

Like other cities as well as states around the country, the City of Pasadena proudly celebrates Black History Month. We do so with the knowledge that Pasadena has and continues to occupy a prominent place in Black History and correspondingly in American history. That history has not always been admirable. However, here in Pasadena there are ongoing and active efforts to establish truth and reconciliation. One example of a new path forward is encapsulated in the recent actions by the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology that approved the removing of the names from its buildings and anyplace on the Institute’s campus of it past leaders who were in direct contact with the National Socialist Party of Germany. Evidence exists that at least one of those leaders was in contact with Adolph Hitler of Nazi Germany. Additionally, the Human Betterment Foundation was headquartered on the campus of Caltech. The Foundation practiced eugenics and was responsible for the forced sterilization of 9,000 Black Servicemen, amongst other atrocities. Those activities were the precursor of the implementation of the “Final Solution” in Nazi Germany.

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.

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 you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you 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!

Respectfully,

John J. Kennedy