Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings

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Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

2-16-2022

Abstract

Jennifer Tilton interviews Maria Defelice, a woman with a deep history in the Inland Empire and education. The interview starts with Defelice’s discussion on her background of being born in New York, moving to San Bernardino in her early 20s, and teaching at the Highland Pacific School then at Bonnie Oehl Elementary School. Defelice spoke about her husband Jim Jackson and how they married at a time when interracial relationships were looked down upon. Jackson had been into The Black Panthers and the issues of that time in the Black community. Over time, their relationship was stressed due to social issues and Defelice soon became a single mother. The interviewee then discussed that she understood Jackson’s struggles and how her own mother had faced harassment based on her last name. The topic goes onto work as a teacher, in which Defelice mentions how she almost was fired for having a Black husband and pregnant with his child. Though people came to her defense, she returned from maternity leave with her position gone. With some help, she was able to secure a place at Roosevelt Elementary School. Even there, she saw prejudice take place but mentioned how her and fellow teachers had been able to help young students integrate and become friends. During the 1960s and 1970s, Defelice had been worried for the safety of others and had even a student and then her husband physically harmed. The discussion shifts a bit towards the building of the 215 Freeway, in which many businesses of color were affected and the community villainized. She also brought up the League of Community Mothers, an organization that strove to better issues in the community. After discussing protests that took place from 1965 to 1977, and the need for changes in the school district, Defelice briefly spoke on teaching in Hawaii for four years. There is further conversation about desegregation, she mentioned her thesis. Working hard for her Masters degree and work in multicultural education, she mentions that her sons also worked hard in college. One son is a professor at Julliard and the other is a senior project director at the UC Irvine Medical Center. On the topic of Black Lives Matter and current protests, Defline said she did not want her sons playing with toy guns as children. She had to teach them how to be safe while driving and other things that would be important to a young Black man. She said she had become more worried for their and her safety than in the past. The interview then ends with the topic of raising multiethnic children, the KKK in Yucaipa, and how peer pressure is difficult to fight.

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