Black Angelenos share memories of homes lost to Los Angeles wildfires
Allene Washington prepared to celebrate fifty years in her Altadena home on Feb. 1. While she enjoyed an idyllic childhood growing up in nearby Pasadena, Calif., her hometown was redlined for where Black Angelenos could reside. Washington later moved to Altadena, where the racist practice did not exist and the Black middle-class dream thrived. When she and her husband Leon needed more room, a realtor showed them nearby homes.
“She took us up into the Rubio Highlands — [the] house was for sale — and I fell in love with it immediately,” said the 85-year-old Washington over the phone. “Fortunately, we were able to purchase it. And that’s a two-story house, and I tell you, I was able to run up and down the stairs there. Lately, what I was doing was taking one stair at a time. That’s why we chose the house. It was a quiet neighborhood.”
After purchasing the property in 1975, they called the place home until it was lost to destructive Los Angeles wildfires earlier this month. An avid cook, Washington recalls hosting family over at the home every opportunity she got. “There was enough room for everybody,” she said. Indeed, the home helped raise four children and provided space for Washington’s five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
“Being a kid and going to her house, she would let me help her cook sometimes…she’d always have these little special aprons for me to wear, and I got to keep them in like, a little drawer,” said Washington’s granddaughter Amber. “Just little things like that are just a part of the fabric of the memory of that house. [She had these] water cups that have been around probably as long as my dad and his siblings have been around. And everybody still used them all the time.”
Washington learned about the fire in real-time while on the phone with one of her children, who heard a friend’s mother had just evacuated. She saw the orange sky and heard the howling winds. A phone alert for her to evacuate was issued around 15 minutes later. Washington packed a few bags and suitcases before leaving. When she got outside, all the power was off and she could only see the embers flying down the hill.
Washington and her husband Leon, who is on dialysis, are now staying with their son Paul. While they can no longer celebrate half a century in their home, they look forward to another landmark next month: their 67th anniversary.
“I have four wonderful children, five grandchildren [and] four great-grandchildren,” said Washington. “And the thing that was our home was truly a home. It wasn’t just a house. We lost the house, but we still have a home because we have love and faith in God.”
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Altadena was also where educator Sherry Joiner met her husband Joe, a medically-discharged army artilleryman who came to California to flee racism in his hometown of Kosciusko, Miss, and move closer to his siblings. They got married and purchased a historical house built in 1922, where they raised three children, a niece, four grandchildren, and anyone in need of a helping hand.
Joiner, who moved to California in her childhood and only provided a sly smile when asked about her age, went on to work at the local John Muir High School in Pasadena where she was fondly known as “mom” and “Mrs. J.” She still works for the Pasadena Unified School District today at the district office.
Shortly before Joiner’s husband Joe passed away in 2023, he spent his final moments at home in hospice care. When Joiner lost her home to the fire, she also lost his army heirlooms and pictures, along with her own prized possessions and her daughters’ cherished prom dresses.
“I’m muddling through it,” said Joiner over Zoom. “It’s here, it happened. We’re dealing with it day by day.”
Following the fire, she learned the house was underinsured. To make matters worse, they already received a text message offering to purchase the land.
“It puts on your mind that a lot of people, especially the elderly people, will be thoroughly impacted by this,” said Joiner’s daughter Erika. “Do they have the wherewithal –– the mental health and physical health –– to stand strong for three years and fight off the vultures? Altadena was the place where my parents met, [fell] in love and raised us all.
“It’s really concerning to hear what people are estimating that will happen in terms of not being able to come back in and removing the history and the culture from Altadena. And just the Black [history there], it’s very rooted.”
The community remains tight-knit following the fires. Joiner characterized Altadena as “a Christian-based, church-type town” where people are coming together more than ever. Many of her colleagues were born and raised in the area, with some alumni of the high school she worked at. As Joiner returns to work, she knows many of the students will be directly impacted.
“Because of the air quality and kids with asthma, there’s quite a few things that have to be taken into consideration,” she said. “[And] just where the kids are going to be living.”
While images of Altadena now largely show burned-out buildings and charred brush, the Joiners remember the area’s lush vegetation and stunning mountain view. The “unincorporated area” once served as farmland and many chickens and horses still call the place home. But the manicured touch and large homes are also a legacy of Black home and business ownership.
“[In] Altadena and Pasadena, everything is also very historical,” said Joiner. “Even the trees.”
GoFundMe for the Washingtons: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rm653s-grandparents-home-lost-to-fire
GoFundMe for the Joiners: https://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-the-joiner-familys-cherished-home
GoFundMe list for Black Angelenos impacted by the wildfires: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pK5omSsD4KGhjEHCVgcVw-rd4FZP9haoijEx1mSAm5c/htmlview?usp=sharing
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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