Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings

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Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

4-21-2015

Abstract

Ratibu Jacocks interviews Robert Lee Rochelle, a man with a history of helping others in the Inland Empire. The interview starts with Rochelle talking about his background, being born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and moving around due to his father’s army duties. He mentioned that moving to different states and other countries allowed him to become an accepting person as an adult. He arrived in San Bernardino due to wanting to defy the expectations imposed on him as a Black man. Over time, he was able to get an interested in politics of that time while at Mt. San Antonio College. He would also meet important figures from the Civil Rights Movement, such as Reverend Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis. Rochelle also later became involved in the West Side Action Group through work-study. Later, he worked in the Dependency Prevention Commission to help others move forward in life. He also mentions The Kutania People, an organization that helped the Black community. After discussing the Black Athlete Hall of Fame, Rochelle talks about the creation of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast by The Kutania People in collaboration with the Sportsman’s Association. In that event, many people looked forward to it including celebrities. There was also the Black History Month Parade and, more particularly, the influence of Wilber Brown on Rochelle. Brown was someone who was always helpful and had such a good memory that he was able to remember a lot of successful youth who had been in the Kutania People Program. After being asked by Jacocks what he thinks about how future generations can obtain knowledge from those prior, he is disappointed but sees hopeful signs. Rochelle also mentions his time being one of the creators of Pamoja at California State University San Bernardino, an organization that invited young students to college for a visit. These are things that the college continues to organize to this day. Rochelle also says that, after working some time in the foster care system, they wanted to, and successfully did, adopt a baby that had required a home. Jacocks then asks Rochelle about events that had changed his life, transforming how he sees it and people. Rochelle talks about the loss of his wife of eleven years being such an event, and how it taught him to treat people differently. Jacocks also asks him how he would want to be remembered by others. Rochelle says that he wants to be remembered as a man who tried to make a positive difference. The interview ends with Rochelle speaking to people in the future about continuing to make a difference and move forward. He also says that the project archiving African American history in the Inland Empire is a way to preserve the impacts and accomplishments of the Black population.

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