Jennifer Hudson embraced members of the Altadena community impacted by the wildfires burning in Los Angeles County.
During an episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, released Friday, the Grammy-winning singer and host sat down with community members who lost homes and businesses in the Eaton Fire burning in the Altadena area near Pasadena, Calif.
Onochie Chukwurah, owner of Rhythms of the Village African clothing and gift shop, recounted the moment he learned his store had burned down.
“When I got there, I saw our shop burning,” he said. “I was in pain. I looked at it. I said, well, you know, the old African saying, sometimes it takes for one door to close for another one to open.”
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His son, Emeka Chukwurah, also spoke during the interview, recalling hearing the heartbreaking news from his father.
“Everything we have built, everything we contributed to the community, it burned down that morning,” he said.
The Chukwurah family’s story is just one of many from the Altadena area, which has long served as a place of opportunity for Black Americans.
During the Civil Rights era, Altadena emerged as one of the few places where African Americans could escape discrimination and build wealth. By the 1960s, the Black population had reached 4 percent, making it a popular area for a growing Black middle class, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Nikki High, owner of Octavia’s Bookshelf, Pasadena’s only Black-owned bookstore, explained that during the Civil Rights movement, policies that had previously kept Black families from owning homes became nearly “unenforceable.”
Before the fire, Black homeownership in the area stood at 81.5%, nearly double the national rate, with a median income surpassing $129,000. With only 7 percent of residents living in poverty, according to the Associated Press.
When Hudson asked what Altadena means to her guests, High shared her strong ties to the area, saying: “Altadena is home.”
Emeka Chukwurah highlighted the community’s diversity, adding, “It’s multicultural and it’s been a place for people like us to thrive.”
While, Pastor BJ King called for authentic reporting on the fire’s impact, saying: “They keep reporting about Eaton. Eaton is just a small street in Altadena. It’s the Altadena fire. All of Altadena is burned down.”
The LA fires began on Jan. 7 amid Santa Ana winds of up to 100 mph. To date, the fires have claimed at least 28 lives, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
Watch the interviews below:
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