My Life | Part 1
Racial Setbacks
My family is a mixture of Blacks, Latinos and Whites. You can see from my photo taken over 30 years ago that I’m the product of a multi-heritage culture. When I was a teenager, my afro was 4 times the size shown here and I didn’t wear 3 piece suits with silk ties either.
During the Watts Riot, we lived in South Central Los Angeles just a block from one of the National Guard staging areas. Sirens, fires and looting where all around. I also remember traveling by car through several states where I saw “white only” signs posted in the windows of some businesses.
By the time our infamous L.A. Riots happened and long after my military service, I no longer lived in L.A. While working for a large corporation, my wife and I moved to a suburb about 40 miles outside of the city. During this riot, I watched on TV and later drove through a burned up South Central Los Angeles where I grew up. I brought all this up only to illustrate that I’ve lived through some turbulent periods. I’ve also seen a great deal of positive change occur. If all this positive change I said really occurred, what the hell happened? Why all the racial issues? My Life Part 2