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January 2024

Bernard Garrett, Incredible Black Entrepreneur

In the 1960’s a young man named Bernard Garrett devised an audacious and risky plan to take on the racist establishment of the 1960s by helping other African Americans pursue the American dream. His plan succeeded despite many vigorous challenges and over the years he and his associates built a very successful business in real estate and banking. Bernard Garret died in 2019 and the amazing story of his enterprise has been made into a motion picture with Apple TV. An interesting trailer will give you a preview of the movie.

Release of the film was delayed  due to some contraversy  raised by members of the Garrett family. The issues raised were about some of the  timeline in  history  as well as allegations made about sexual miscounduct by more than one of the producers of the film, against Bernard Garrett Jr. Anyone intersted in the film should at least be aware of these contraversies.

Jurie Lewis, a friend of Pasadena Village and an active member of Villages NW, in Portland, Oregon, discovered that Bernard Garrett, was a great uncle of hers. She has looked into the story and has agreed to visit us and share what she has learned about her amazing relative and his incredible enterprise. She will be our featured speaker in our next meeting on the first Friday of Black History Month,  February 3rd, at 10AM PST. 

We are making this meeting open to non-members who can get the zoom link by calling our office at (626) 765-6037. Our regular participants will receive the link in their email and are welcome to provide that to friends who might be interested. 

In our subsequent meeting of Black History month on February 17th,  at 12 Noon, Brian Biery will provide us with a history of the Highway 710 Extension project and its impact on the African American neighborhoods in Pasadena. This history is very relevant because of the current efforts to resolve the issues surrounding the condemnation of properties which were never used after plans for the freeway were canceled.