Altadena has been a center of Black homeownership in Los Angeles for decades, and residents fear that January’s wildfire, which turned blocks of homes and businesses into rubble, could erase a once-thriving community that has nurtured Black artists, activists and writers, from Sidney Poitier to Octavia Butler.
California fires destroyed or damaged nearly half of Black homes in Altadena Residents fear recent wildfires could erase a once-thriving community that nurtured Black artists, activists and writers.
The UCLA researchers found that 61% of Altadena’s Black households were located within the Eaton fire perimeter, and that the blaze had a disproportionate impact on Black residents.
The clustering of Black households within the west Altadena neighborhood particularly damaged by the fire was no accident, but the result of racially discriminatory practices dating back to the 1930s, said Lorrie Frasure, the director of UCLA’s Ralph J Bunche Center for African American Studies, and one of the lead researchers on the study.
In past years, Altadena’s Black residents have had nearly double the homeownership rates of Black Americans across the Los Angeles county area – making the town a potential success story in efforts to shrink the racial wealth gap.
