From Altadena to Fontana: A Journey of Strength and Resilience

After living in a foster home for about 2 years, I was eternally grateful to moved with my grandmother to Altadena, California. I lived with her and my grandfather for a few years and eventually she moved to Fontana, California to get me away from the environment I was in. One thing I can say, back then I was more afraid of my grandmother than I was of the police. She thought she was doing the best for me as a young teen. Welcome to Fontana, California. The year is 1981 and unknown to my grandmother AKA (Big momma) Fontana was known for being the headquarters for the KKK. How true was that? I don’t know but what I do know is I was called nigger while walking to school daily by-passing cars. Being from the environment that I was from, no matter how dysfunctional that it might have been, it was normal for me, so this was very strange to me compared to the inner city. If I had a gun at the time, I probably would have hurt someone seeing that I had never experienced anything like that in my life. I went on to transition from elementary to high school where things were not as blatant and in your face by the white kids, but it still existed. I remember an incident that happened at the school where a kid that lived around the corner from me (Which I remember his name to this day but choose not to share) had an encounter with a new black student from Los Angeles. The kid hung around other white kids that had the tendency to call black kids out their name. I truly don’t believe he was racist but believe he was influenced by the other kids which led to him calling the new kid nigger and spitting in his face. Well, unknowingly the kid from Los Angeles had a pair of scissors in his pocket and commenced to stab him multiple times in the head and wherever else he could. Some months later the kid that got stabbed was standing outside while I was walking to school, and it looked like he had just gotten over chicken pox. The kid had multiple scabs all over from the stab wounds. Two lives were ruined that day, they both suffered greatly for their actions. The kid from Los Angeles went to juvenile hall or prison. I don’t know what happened to him and the other kid was pretty messed up all behind showing off for his friends. Needless to say, that not one of them tried to help him while he was being attacked yet was willing to put him in that situation. Peer pressure is real among kids.