There’s a certain residential hierarchy in the Altadena and Pasadena areas. Just ask anyone who’s lived here for less than 50 years. You know, the newcomers.
They’ll tell you there is always a friend or neighbor whose mother or father, more than 100 years ago, sailed ‘round the Horn to Pasadena, rode saddleback following a covered wagon to Altadena, or irrefutably ended up at Lake and Washington as part of a Spanish land grant, dutifully documented in their genealogical history.
So, in 2021, when the Altadena Historical Society identified African-American Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark, one of its long-lost community members and a documented East Coast civil rights activist, abolitionist and educator, was buried in an unmarked grave at Mountain View Cemetery in 1892, the race was on to incorporate her story into the area’s celebrated history. What better way to do that than to honor her achievements with a proper graveside marker?
Past AHS President Jane Brackman (who has only lived in her house for 42 years) replaced the past AHS president, who was born here in 1918 and whose mother lived in Altadena before that.
“I was AHS president from 2003 to 2023. I’m old, and I’m one of the younger members. At board meetings, our cumulative age was about 700 years,” says Brackman.
“We have been a research facility since 1935. We’re not a museum, but we archive material. We archive our history, our people, and our stories, and then researchers come and visit the archive to do their research to reflect on what happened before. We get no funds from any government. The difference between AHS and La Crescenta, San Gabriel Historical Society and Pasadena Historical Society is we’re in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. Every cent that we raise has come from the community since 1935.”
Unfortunately, the AHS historical archive did not necessarily include the history of what happened in the African-American community.
“We had no family stories about any African-American people who lived here, and residents were not pleased,” she continues.
“I’m old, and I’m one of the younger members. At board meetings, our cumulative age was about 700 years.”
Jane Brackman
So when the Altadena Historical Society board reached out to the African-American community for support for the Clark gravestone recognition, current board President Veronica Jones took the lead, rallying the African-American community. Instead of a generic fundraising letter, she solicited support via direct and personal connections. In just three weeks, she raised an impressive $7,000, aligning the fundraising effort with the annual Juneteenth holiday in 2021.
Through her collective efforts, a new community bond was formed, the Clark gravestone was purchased and installed via a community ceremony, and, to everyone’s delight, some funds remained.
“We came up with the idea of an annual scholarship award. And because of the publicity we received regarding the Clark history, we had several corporations and groups who wanted to join our efforts,” said Jones.
A Motivated Community
“The scholarship fund grew,” said Jones. “We also had enough funding to purchase two gravestone markers for Ellen G. Clark’s husband, Harvey Clark and her sister, Susan Garrison. This is our third year of awarding scholarships. We’re pretty proud that we could continue. We don’t stockpile our money. We want to get the money and give it away. We want to do more next year and call back the recipients we’ve already awarded and maybe hand them another check to say we’re still watching and rooting for you.”
AHS has presented six scholarship awards since 2022. This year’s recipients were honored at a community luncheon in Altadena on June 19, 2024, attended by 150 community members. The two students are from John Muir High School, enrolled in the PCC dual enrollment program, and participate in the Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development (MYPD) program. The winners were chosen through a competitive process administered by Lawton Gray, III, Principal at JMHS.
Gray, the 2024 recipient of the NAACP Ruby McKnight Award, has increased the success of JMHS students to the point that students from private schools are competing to attend.
“He’s raised the caliber of education and brought in money where there used to be white flight,” says Jones. “Our scholarship recipients are successful because they went to Muir, and somebody paid attention to them. He’s a really dedicated professional.”
2024 AHS Scholarship Recipients
Eighteen-year-old recipient Bradley Jones is a John Muir alumni headed for a business degree from the University of Hawaii.
He was a bit choked up recalling the struggles of his childhood.
“I was born in Missouri, and then I moved to California. That’s when, at age seven, my mom died. I lived with relatives in Tahoe, Nevada. Then, I moved to Pasadena to live with my aunt. A couple of years later, my dad died. I’ve just been out here since then. This place just really felt like home to me. I hope my parents would be proud of me. I don’t really know. I hope so.”
He continues. “Attending the University of Hawaii has been my dream since I was a little kid. Since I’m not in sports, I just thought I’d go somewhere where I thought I’d have fun, and it’s a good business and real estate program.”
“I’m not good at math,” he answered when asked about his educational challenges. “But I was dual-enrolled in PCC classes and graduated with six college credits, which will ease the cost of my education. Hawaii is very expensive. I’m taking out a student loan. I’m staying in the dorms. I’m worried that the workload is going to be hard and that my dorms don’t have AC. But in middle school, I was worried about high school. And then when I got to high school it wasn’t that bad. So, I hope that’s how it is in college.”
He’s been in the MPYD program since his freshman year.
“Even though there was COVID-19, we’d still come to the MYPD program two or three times a week,” says Jones. “One of the best things about this program is the Lunch with the Future program,” he says. “They bring in people from older generations and feed us. They talk about life goals and how we should prepare for the future. It really gave me a good concept for preparing for real life.”
Recipient Blake Brown, a JMHS track and field athlete, is enrolled at Cal-State Sacramento as a psychology major.
“The scholarship process was really an eye-opener. I didn’t know anything about Ellen Garrison Clark. I learned what she did and her impact on other people. So, it was really good knowledge for me. Besides the money,” he said.
“We really need to deal with things but don’t get to. We keep it down because we have nobody to talk to, and I want to be there for somebody.”
Blake Brown
“I’ve been in Altadena my entire life. I used to move around a lot to multiple houses in Altadena. I live with my mom and my sister. I’m going to Cal State Sacramento in pursuit of a degree in psychology. I want to be a therapist,” said Brown.
He’s considering specializing in sports therapy for athletes.
“I feel a career in therapy is for me because it helps other people speak for themselves. With help, you can learn to speak for yourself, stand up for yourself, and express your own feelings, or even have a place to put those feelings. I like talking to people. I feel I can sympathize and understand, and I’m willing to do it.”
Brown feels some of his friends don’t get to talk enough about feelings.
“We don’t have places to express our feelings – how we’re really feeling or about things. We need to deal with things but don’t get to. We keep it down because we have nobody to talk to, and I want to be there for somebody.”
He also commented on the lack of African-American men in the psychology field.
“For people to relate to their therapist, they sometimes need to see the same person. They need to identify. This is especially true if you are a student-athlete who is faced with the demands of school, family, and life. It’s easier to talk to somebody you relate to, who looks like you and understands where you came from.”
Brown also agrees about the usefulness of the Lunch of the Future program at MPYD.
“That was the main program that hooked me. I came one time, and then I started coming in every day. And I’ve been here for two years since my freshman year.”
MYPD and Myles Santifer
MPYD focuses on young men ages 13 to 18 and includes programs in career development, family social development, educational access, and tracking academic success. The daily Lunch of the Future program features different professionals from the financial field, medical field, business, nonprofit sectors, etc., who speak to the students and answer Q’s and A’s. The program helps the students network and find jobs or intern placements. Gearing Up for Careers is another program allowing students to work on projects around the JMHS campus and offsite at business locations. In the summer, there is a camp program at Big Bear Lake featuring guest speakers, workshops, fun activities and sports.
“Young men need mentors,” says Myles Santifer, newly appointed executive director. “MPYD is a safe space for young men at JMHS to build community, receive an education and figure out their career paths. We encourage them to take advantage of the PCC dual enrollment program and the affiliated UCLA and I Heart College programs.”
Santifer’s background is in education, art,, and music. He graduated from UC Berkeley, majoring in African American studies, and has an MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York. He was hand-picked by retiring Executive Director Tecumseh Shackelford.
Wisdom and Community
We asked all three young men about their advice for young people.
Jones was very specific in his advice.
“Just don’t give up. There are better days ahead. And that even though you’re going through something, others may be going through something worse. You’re not alone.”
“No matter what your problem is,” says Brown, “no matter what you’re feeling, no matter how small you think it is, if it’s bothering you, say something to somebody. Talk it out.”
Santifer advised taking advantage of every opportunity while you’re young when you have the enthusiasm and energy to pursue your education and your professional pursuits.
“Education is not only in the classroom. Think long-term about every decision you make. Think about what you’re going to sacrifice for certain decisions you make. And then, don’t forget your community. Even when college is done, you’re going to come back home, and you still want to have those people who pushed you to get there. And you’re never on your own. Never forget that. You have MPYD, you have Pasadena, Altadena, you have everyone. Everyone’s here to support you.”
“I’m just glad that we’re able to do it, and we’re able to do it in the name of someone who believed in education and in the name of the Altadena Historical Society,” said Veronica Jones. “Besides preserving our history, one of our AHS goals is literacy, making the opportunity to learn available. Clark was an abolitionist, and her mom and dad were slaves. Her dad bought her mom’s freedom and his freedom. Education was their family goal.”
Future Plans
Are the students planning a return to the area?
“I gotta come back for like holidays! It’s only a 45-minute flight,” said Brown.
“Maybe Spring break?” questions Jones. “I want to come back for Spring break, but Spring break in Hawaii doesn’t sound too bad. But we have to come back for the community.”
AHS Past President Brackman also commented regarding the need for community.
“When we were looking for a place to live, I told my husband: I want to live in a town where we have a newspaper and where I can go to a restaurant or a store on my way back from a run and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t have my money with me. I’ll come right back.’ That’s what Altadena was and still is.”
