Unity Garden is dedicated in memory of family victimized by violence in Fontana in 1945, Fontana, California – USA

December 15, 2023

Student ambassadors welcomed Randall Pepper’s visitors, who passed by photographs of the O’Day Short family as they walked to the heart of the campus to reach the garden.

The Randall Pepper Choir performed “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” the African American spiritual song, and fifth grader Londyn Otis read the poem “Peace” by Sara Fox before a colorful peace pole — which reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four different languages — was unveiled next to the garden.

“This garden is a chance for us to honor the lives that were taken from us,” Inbody said. “As we stand in the presence of this Unity Garden here, let it be a symbol of resilience, strength, and solidarity. Gardens by their nature represent growth, renewal, and the cycle of life. They remind us that from the seeds of sorrow we can cultivate hope and healing.”

Among the dignitaries who attended the event were City of Fontana Mayor Pro Tem Peter A. Garcia and Treasurer Janet Koehler-Brooks, FUSD Board of Education Vice President Adam Perez, Fontana Teachers Association President Mark Schulte, United Steelworkers Local 8599 President Dawn Dooley, and representatives from the offices of San Bernardino County Supervisor Jesse Armendarez, San Bernardino County Board of Education Trustee Laura Mancha and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Ted Alejandre.

The O’Day Short family purchased and began building a home on a vacant, five-acre lot at Randall Avenue and Pepper Avenue in Fontana at a time when African Americans were forbidden to live south of Baseline Avenue. The O’Day Short family received threats of violence and offers from the Chamber of Commerce to buy back the property before their house was set ablaze.

An arson investigator hired by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) determined the fire was deliberately set from the exterior, according to reports. Randall Pepper Elementary School was later built on the site in 1950.

The O’Day Short Family Unity Garden came to life thanks to the collaboration of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and the Chino Basin Water Conservation District under the umbrella of the IEUA’s Garden in Every School program. In addition to serving as a living monument to the O’Day Short family, the garden will serve as a learning center for generations of students exploring the world of science, the FUSD said.

Randall Pepper will continue to honor the O’Day Short family by holding an annual Unity Assembly each December to celebrate the many cultures and ethnicities that comprise its local and global community.

“There is a legacy to live up to here at Randall Pepper,” Gomez said. “It is an honor to commemorate the lives of the O’Day Short Family who chose to take a stand in their world.”

Credits: Fontana Herald News