(NewsNation) — While wildfires devastating wealthy Los Angeles neighborhoods have dominated headlines, the historic community of Altadena is facing its own crisis as multiple generations of families lose their homes to the flames.
Among them are the Williams sisters, whose family exemplifies Altadena’s tight-knit community — California’s first middle-class Black neighborhood, established during the Great Migration as a sanctuary from Jim Crow laws.
“The community is super strong, and we always have been,” Eshele Williams said Monday on NewsNation’s “CUOMO.” “You’re talking about generational home ownership, but the families that still live in Altadena, we’ve never moved.”
Now, the area’s nearly 50,000 residents are a diverse mix, with Black and Latino residents comprising half the population.
Three Williams sisters, along with their parents who once fostered local children, lost their homes to the fires.
A fourth sister’s home remains standing but is currently inaccessible. The extended family — 17 people, four dogs and a 40-year-old family parrot named Hank — are now sharing a hotel room.
Their mother, Matilda Williams, said that family unity is key to their survival.
“Our faith, our unity, definitely, and the love we have for each other — when something goes wrong, we all gather together,” she said.
The Williams family has started two GoFundMe pages to rebuild their homes.
