Black History Month / Today’s Voices : Perspectives on the Past--and the Future

From the African American who owned much of what is now the San Fernando Valley in the 1790s to the high school student who has devoted himself to keeping his peers out of gangs, people of African descent in the Valley have a long, proud history.

In this special report, we look back at some of that history and--with the help of several voices from the present--turn to the future.

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LEROY ADAMS / ‘I Think the Employers Need to Be Colorblind’

Leroy Adams, 50, is a Realtor and former president of the Pacoima Chamber of Commerce.

“I think the most important thing to address would be employment opportunities for the younger people and access to higher education. As the cost of higher education keeps increasing, it becomes harder and harder for people who don’t have the financial reserves to go to school. Also, a disproportionate number of African Americans are unemployed. It’s very hard to maintain your dignity and try to have access to the decent things in society when you don’t have a job.

It seems to me that, at the businesses, the restaurants, hardware stores and other places I patronize, a disproportionate number of employees are not African American. My own son, who is attending college, spent months looking for a job before he got a position in retail sales.

“I’m not suggesting that people are consciously trying to not employ the African American or doing anything illegal, but there may be a tendency to be more comfortable, for whatever reason, hiring someone else. I think the employers need to be colorblind in their hiring and reject stereotyped images in the media, which seem to depict African Americans as involved in crime or panhandling on a regular basis. There are a lot of young African Americans out there who want to work hard and deserve a chance.”