The 43rd annual Black History Festival went on without its beloved parade, but about 600 people still gathered at Robinson Park in Pasadena Saturday, Feb. 15, in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire.
The festival is a time to heal and celebrate together, said Pixie Boyden, co-chair of the Black History Planning Committee. The Jan. 7 windstorm and wildfire decimated much of Altadena and parts of Pasadena a mere six blocks from the festival venue north of Fair Oaks Avenue.
It was in deference to the loss and destruction of the Eaton Fire that organizers decided to forego the parade. Some schools and other groups set to be on the parade performed at the festival.
“The Pasadena/Altadena community is stronger than our current circumstances, and while healing will take time, we are committed to helping that progress,” Boyden said.
Dorothy Evans, founder of Hope Now community resource center in Pasadena, showed up even though she has lost her home and neighborhood, including the schools of her childhood, Eliot School and St. Mark’s Episcopal in Altadena.
“It’s easier to count the friends not affected by the wildfire than those who’ve lost their homes, and in some cases, multiple homes,” Evans said. “It’s a mess. It’s a disaster. It makes you use your words like unprecedented and unbelievable.”
Her focus now is on seniors and youth, especially elderly residents who have lost homes or apartments in the fire.
“They’re most concerned about the meantime, right now, and I’m concerned seniors are being prohibited from getting the services they deserve,” Evans said.
Artist Duane Paul will assemble Polaroid selfies people take at the festival and Kidspace Children’s Museum on Sunday into “Faces of Dena,” a collection of portraits that lend the “who” to an architectural piece.
Each subject will complete the statement, “I am…” under their photo, and the patchwork of statements and pictures will be one way to build back the community, said Michael Fritzen, public programs manager for Kidspace Museum.
Altadena Library staff gave out free books and stickers, happy to be among community members again. Helen Milner, library associate, said it is difficult to drive around so many homes destroyed in the library’s vicinity and wonder who will return to use its services again.
While they wait for repairs to be made to bring the library back online, staff have been running care camps with the county parks and recreation department and bringing their services to La Crescenta Valley Park, Crescenta Valley Regional Park and Jefferson Children’s Center in Pasadena.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Milner said.
Allison Stepps, president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Pasadena Alumnae chapter, partnered with sorority sisters from other foothill communities to give away bags of baby and school supplies as well as hygiene kits.
“Whatever the need is, we are going to fill,” she said.
George Searle, 66, an American Red Cross volunteer from Easton, Maryland, has spent his time helping out at community outreach events in Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Pasadena. A retired construction manager at Bechtel, Searle said he is grateful to help people find solutions after a disaster hits.
“What I’m doing now is so much more important than what I did before retirement,” Searle said. “You look at life through a different lens.”
Tournament of Roses member Michael Calderon Jr. gave out stickers, rose patches and posters celebrating next year’s Rose Parade theme, “The Magic of Teamwork.” The gathering of nonprofits and aid agencies
“We’re all here doing what we can,” Calderon said. “The Rose Parade brings people hope, one day of hope and peace and flowers and music, and it’s good to remind them of that hope.”
Tyrone Ferdinand, 60, took in the lines for food, picnic tables full of people, and children at a line of inflatable games. The Pasadena recreation leader was there for the first Black History parade and festival 43 years ago.
“I grew up across the street on Hammond, and I worked the parade,” he said, remembering Robinson Park as just a dirt field next to a mortuary.
“This is the way it’s supposed to be, a lovely gathering of people, and not just Black, but all ethnicities and this year is more special because of the fire,” Ferdinand said.
His friend Demetrius Perry, another born and bred Pasadenan, said the festival is another reminder after the fires to have one another’s backs.
“Maybe the fire forces the situation to remind us to care for each other, not just Black, all human beings,” Perry said. “And to remind us there is always hope. Big time hope.”
Other participants included the Clergy Community Coalition, ACLU, and county departments from public works and regional planning to mental health and housing services.
Sponsors included Pasadena City College, the Pasadena branch of the NAACP, Kidspace Children’s Museum, Pasadena Management Association and Tournament of Roses.