Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings
Loading...
Document Type
Oral History
Publication Date
3-25-2021
Abstract
John Coleman describes the racial divide between north Redlands, a racially mixed community, and the majority white south Redlands. He explains how school superintendent Dr. Heisner tried to manage school desegregation by dividing the district along an east west line and shares stories about his son’s struggles with racism when he attended a predominately white south Redlands school. Coleman describes his involvement with civil rights organizations in the region including the Inland Area Urban League and his role as the chair of Redlands’ Human Relations Council and the Community Concerns Committee of First Baptist Church. He describes some of the multiracial civil rights networks that came together in the region to fight for civil rights and shares a memory of a community meeting about Proposition 14 (which overturned California’s fair housing law). Coleman describes Redlands’ Black community’s dedication to providing educational opportunities for youth through the Adrienettes club, the Neighborhood's Club and the Cesar Hangen's Scholarship Fund. He talks about his work as the first African-American Admissions Officer at the University of California Riverside and his decades of work with the American Cancer Society to support access to health care for African Americans in the region. Finally, Coleman describes his post retirement career as a photographer documenting important events in the Inland Empire.
Recommended Citation
Wilmer Amina Carter Foundation, "John Coleman (March 25, 2021)" (2021). Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings. 172.
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/bridges/172
Comments
Interview conducted by Charletha, Ringstaff and Jennifer, Tilton (University of Redlands).