Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings

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Document Type

Oral History

Abstract

Ratibu Jacocks interviews three members of the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation, an organization that strives to uphold and preserve Black culture in the city of San Bernardino. The three members were Emil Latroy Ingram, Genevieve Echols, and Margaret Hill. The three discuss their backgrounds with Ingram as a member of the Ingram family and from Los Angeles, Hill from the west side of San Bernardino, and Hill from Virginia. Enchols mentioned that she was the president of the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation. Hill was an executive producer. She explains that after settling in San Bernardino, she met many people in the organization that also worked in the educational field. The discussion then moves towards the history surrounding said organization, such as how there had been a name change due to a complication in filing and it had been considered a corporation by some. The original name of the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation had been the Black History Committee. After going over the need to digitally preserve documentation, the group discuss the importance of getting youth involved in the organization. There is still a lack of youth involvement with events such as workshops for financial aid and scholarships, Easter egg hunts, the Black Culture Parade, and so on. They wish to remedy this, especially by trying to get young people in their 20s to establish an organization that will recruit younger people to continue the organization. When speaking about the need to get youth involved, Echo said that her motivation came down to giving back to her community and sharing Black history. Ingram said that he had to understand prejudice, targeting, diversity, and culture and would like to be remembered as a kind person with a commitment to the Black community. There is also the topic of San Bernardino’s diverse population changing. Hill does not believe that there would be a way to work in a united fashion and that there is a need to become involved in the same way that the Black community did in the decades prior. Back to the conversation of the parade, part of why it had ended is due to the lack of funding and the focus on giving scholarships to the youth. This also ties to a distrust within the Black community that spans hundreds of years of history and injustices. To be self-sufficient and be able to say that the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation was able to do the funding themselves will be a good look. Following the explanation of the Black Rose pageant's name, the three interviewees talk about the importance of exposure and self-esteem for young Black women. Echols also mentioned that she wants to see the continuation of the organization’s founding fathers. Ingram spoke about trying to drive the organization for as many years as possible into the future. With some talk about the senior king and queen, Hill ends the interview with some words about keeping the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation alive and that she was able to reflect on the organization due to the interview. There is also some small talk between the group after the main recording

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