Now, lynching is not something you write home about. Nor do you want your grandchildren to know about. But, when grandchildren discover the secret, acknowledging the past is the first necessary step to avoid repeating it. What do you think Ms Mayor of Fontana, CA?*
This December marks the 70th anniversary of the firebombing of the home of O’Day Short, an African-American who in 1945 moved his family from Los Angeles 60 miles east to Fontana, California. Shortly before Christmas, and after receiving warnings from police and local thugs about moving to a White neighborhood, his home suspiciously burned down, instantly killing his wife Helen and their two small children Ann and Barry. (Photo via the Los Angeles Sentinel)
Short himself hovered between life and death for a few more weeks, [but] died before he could testify, and the NAACP dropped their pursuit of justice in Fontana.
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*The Mayor of Fontana is Acquanetta Warren. She can be reached at awarren@fontana.org and via Twitter at @Acqie2010 . The phone number to her office is (909) 350-7600.
The District Attorney for San Bernardino County is Mike Ramos, who tweets as @michaelramos . The phone number to his office is (909) 382-3669, and his email is da@da.sbcounty.gov .
