Blog archive
October 2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024
September 2024
Connecting with Village Connections
09/30/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
09/27/2024
Reflection on Life
09/20/2024
Expanding the Possibilities
09/19/2024
Need a Ride? No Problem!
09/17/2024
Security When Aging (Especially If You Are Single)
09/17/2024
The Bridge Begins at Thanksgiving
09/17/2024
The Power of Collective Service: Putting the Village First
09/17/2024
Tino Melchor - A Mentor for Young Teens in the Making
09/17/2024
Village Party Bus Delivers FUN
09/17/2024
We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know: That’s Why We Have Educational Programs
09/17/2024
On Rereading Tolle by Ed Rinderle
09/10/2024
Autumn Leaves
09/09/2024
August 2024
1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024
1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024
First Anniversary
08/19/2024
Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024
Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024
The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024
Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024
Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024
Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024
Future Housing Options
08/15/2024
Message from the President
08/15/2024
There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024
Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024
A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024
Haikus
08/13/2024
One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024
Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024
Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024
July 2024
Alma Stokes, The Struggle in Pasadena
07/25/2024
A Poetry Gathering: Liberating Experiences Available
07/19/2024
Civil Rights Movement Series
07/19/2024
Happy Hours in Pasadena: A Villager’s Perspective
07/19/2024
Pasadena Village and the National Dialogue on Villages and Healthy Aging Research
07/19/2024
President's Message
07/19/2024
The Kern River Rafting Caper
07/19/2024
The Village Artists Group creates creative camaraderie
07/19/2024
An Example of Inherent Racism
07/14/2024
Current, Upcoming Events
07/04/2024
June 2024
No Real Recourse For Discrimination
06/30/2024
A Personal Statement of Strength and Well-Being
06/25/2024
Juneteenth Reflections
06/24/2024
Reflections on 2023-2025
06/21/2024
Reactions and Reflections Re: Juneteenth
06/19/2024
As Our Organization Grows, Villagers Recall Personal Highlights
06/17/2024
From the Outgoing President
06/17/2024
Letter from the Incoming President: Beginning Our ‘Lagniappe’ Year
06/17/2024
The Editorial Team Looks Back: Creating the Voice of the Village
06/17/2024
This Year's Resource Fair was the Most Successful Ever
06/17/2024
Telling the Whole Story
06/12/2024
Nashville
06/10/2024
May 2024
Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024
Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024
Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024
Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024
Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024
Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024
Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024
Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024
Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024
Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024
Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024
Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024
Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024
Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024
No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024
An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024
Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024
Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024
The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024
Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024
April 2024
Rumor of Humor #2410
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2411
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2412
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2413
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2414
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2415
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2416
04/28/2024
Stimulated by "Caste"
04/22/2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
Me? A Racist?
By Richard MyersPosted: 10/31/2020
- Karen -
When did I become aware of this? There were many times I was confronted with racism but I’m not sure I ever saw myself as a racist.
My First Encounter
There was the time when I was very small, three or four. I spoke no English. My sister, just a year older than me, and I discovered there was a little girl living next door to us. She was about our age and a dark brown. We discovered each other through the fence in the backyard. We asked if we could go over to play with her. The answer was a definite “no.”
I didn’t understand why we couldn’t play together but we found a way around it. We played through the fence instead. We had little rubber baby dolls. Hers was brown. I always wanted one like hers but never got one, even though many times I had asked Santa to bring me one.
Post-war Racism
Our family moved to a new home when I was four. My sister and I became friends with two Japanese girls who also spoke no English. Language didn’t matter. We played beautifully. We all started school together. The Japanese girls were the same ages as my sister and I. We went to school and learned to speak English. Our parents were all bilingual.
I discovered that being Japanese was “bad.” These girls could not play at the homes of the other children in the neighborhood. I didn’t understand why. They were always welcome at my house and our mothers were friendly with each other.
Of course I later learned it had to do with hard feelings and prejudices from the war. I learned much later that some families in the neighborhood mistakenly thought our family was German. When they learned we were Danish, their attitudes improved.
White Flight
There were no black people in Altadena when I was growing up. I remember some moving in during the late 50’s. That’s when there was a flurry of “for sale” signs going up. My parents had no intention of leaving. This was their home and they were staying. Many of the families in the neighborhood moved away but we stayed.
At that time I was in middle school at Eliot. There was one black girl in the whole school, Deborah Sweeney. She was little and smart and quiet. We had classes together and I liked her but, somehow, I knew we shouldn’t be friends. I only talked to her to say “hi” or discuss school work. She was alone most of the time. I look back and think of how brave she was.
Forbidden Crush
In high school at John Muir, there was a boy named Greg. He was light brown with beautiful green eyes and a warm smile. He and I had a trigonometry class together. He was smart, funny and cute. He played a trumpet in the Muir band and had a lot of band friends.
I knew I wasn’t supposed to like Greg but I did. I never told anyone. He and I decided to take a summer school class together. We decided to take a class in speed reading. It would be easy and we could have a little time together. That summer just made me like him all the more.
When our se
nior year came, Greg had a girlfriend. She was brown. I eventually had a boyfriend. He was white, like me. I’ve never forgotten Greg. I can still see him in my mind. He’s an old man now but I see his young smiling face and green eyes and wonder what I missed.
Segregation
My black friends have been few but I did enjoy some lovely friendships with black and brown people throughout my life. Mostly I have always had white friends.
I remember the time a boyfriend, who was white, took me to a black club in LA called, “The Total Experience.” It was so much fun but I felt out of place. There was a great band and people were dressed to the hilt. We danced but I didn’t feel like we danced nearly as well as everyone else. I did indeed feel under-dressed and out of place.
Years later, when I was married and had my second daughter, an adorable little redhead named Chelsea, we went to the Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach to enjoy a day of R&B which my husband loved. There we were, the whitest family in the crowd.
Our little red-haired daughter with her mass of orange curls, was about three and totally into the music. She was dancing and laughing and charming everyone. She felt like my “link” to a crowd I didn’t think I had much in common with. It turned out to be a day of sheer joy and community and love of music.
Racism Realized
I have lived through race riots, learned of police brutality in my community, tried to understand the systemic racism in our society and, at the same time, I’ve prided myself in overcoming any prejudice I have learned from my life experiences. These were not necessarily prejudices taught as much as implied, but insidious, none the less.
In 2019 the 1619 Project was published by the New York Times. It was the beginning of a whole new kind of understanding of a thing called, “White Privilege.” For the first time, it seems, I am beginning to understand this term and how it applies to me and how I have “gone along with the program” all my life. I want better for myself and for my community and for my country.
To answer the question, when did I become aware I was a racist? At 75 I became aware… unintentionally a racist, yet a racist, just the same. I am on a mission to change that.