Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings

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Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

6-30-2023

Abstract

In this interview, Beverly Lorraine Wright is the guest. She discusses her childhood in Redlands, discrimination, and community activism. Born in 1955 in San Diego, Wright mentions that her family moved to the diverse and multiethnic Carlotta Courta area of Redlands. Wright had a wonderful childhood in the tight knight community where everyone looked out for each other. After talking about faith and how her mother was Baptist and her father Catholic, the interviewee goes on her discussion of school. She said that she was in the third grade when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and talked about strict teachers like Amos Isaac who brought cultural awareness to students. One time, the Black Panthers had arrived to her junior high school to teach about academic resources for students but later the schools separated the Black students from others during lunch. Wright considered this one of the first instances of racism she encountered. Wright also said that she was in theater and that actually made her aware of political issues in her time. The interviewee discussed being able to go to occasional Black Panther meetings in San Bernardino and had been in the Black Student Union and in cheerleading. She also later joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People while working in the county’s health department. Wright’s son was also in the NAACP and had the role of president at the time of the recording. The woman talks about issues with police that the NAACP dealt with and even took the school district to court. When being asked about her feelings about living during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement, Wright says she is disappointed at the lack of a plan. She then spoke about her message to younger generations, which was that listening is important. The interview ends with a brief finish to the recording where Wright recollects important community leaders like Ms. Dimery and how she and other leaders fought for a more inclusive community. There is also a mention of the Teen Post and the jobs that youth had in her time and city.

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