The Rev. Al Sharpton led a memorial service at the First AME Church in Pasadena Thursday for victims of the area's wildfires.
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Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, joined by national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, said they've begun a call to action for truth, accountability, and justice for those whose homes were lost or damaged in the Eaton fire, many of them black, generational wealth wiped out by the fire.
National civil rights attorney Ben CrumpKNX News/Karen Adams
"What we want is fairness and justice and restoration of Altadena," said Sharpton to the crowd. "They do not need to be replaced or displaced. They need to be back in their homes, and there should not be bias between how you handle one side of the victims and the other."
He also shared this warning with companies involved in recovery efforts, "We want these insurance companies, [and] we want the energy company Edison to know that we're going to fight from a civil rights point of view as the lawyers deal with it from a litigator's point of view."
Crump, who is representing the families of some who died in the fires, urged those displaced not to give in to the 'vultures' offering 'pennies on the dollar' for their property to get them to leave their beloved community.
"We will make sure that we repair Altadena, we will make sure that we restore Altadena, and we will make sure that we build Altadena, and we will build it back better," he said during an energized speech.
Crump ended the service with a rallying cry of "Altadena Strong!"
A UCLA study released last week found that Black residents of Altadena were disproportionately impacted by the Eaton Fire.
The study found that 61% of Black households in Altadena were located in the fire perimeter, compared with 50% of non-Black households. Roughly 48% of Black households were destroyed or heavily damaged, compared to 37% of non- Black households.
Authors of the report suggested that "historical redlining practices" led to a high concentration of Black families in the areas of Altadena that were most impacted by the fire. They also noted that more than half of Black homeowners in Altadena are over age 65, and many could face additional issues such as insufficient insurance and "risks of financial exploitation" as they look to rebuild.
City News Service contributed to this article.
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