A People’s History of the Inland Empire Digital Archive

Irma Forward Oral History

2024.021.008

Oral History

Irma Jackson Forward describes her grandfather’s migration from Alabama to Valley Truck Farms where he operated Bradley’s store in the 1930s and 1940s. She describes how her mother met her father when he was in the Civilian Conservation Corps, and what it was like to grow up in the Valley where her grandfather grew a big garden, raised animals, and had a small orchard of fruit trees in the backyard. She describes fond memories of growing up in the Valley, her path to a career in psychology and becoming a New Thought Minister. She describes how, growing up, the community group called the Excel-All Women's Club and women’s efforts to get people to vote in the neighborhood. Irma Forward discusses going to Miss Luper’s school and Mill School where Dorothy Ingram insisted on excellence. Irma Forward graduated from Pacific High School where she faced a lot of racism and limited job opportunities for Black women.

African American History

Community Life in San Bernardino

Businesses

Family

Norton Air Force Base

Women

Youth culture

Development

Discrimination

Farming

Childhood

Religion

Voting

Education

Employment

Housing

Valley Truck Farms, San Bernardino (Calif.)

1939-1980s

Irma Jackson Forward

Jennifer Tilton

October 15, 2023

A People's History of the I.E.

.mp4

English

00:39:40