I came to Los Angeles in a brand new Cadillac. I was behind the wheel, and next to me in the passenger seat, was my Mom. At the tender age of 39, she was armed with a Ph.D and an afro, and I was driving her to her new position as Superintendent of Compton Unified School District. Pictures of me and my Mom are below.
I was sixteen and would start UCLA in the up-coming fall. But, what I remember most about that drive, is that it became really foggy: I could barely see in front of me. And, although I thought my Mom was insane at the time, she kept repeating, “Keep going, you’re doing fine.” Now I understand that was her philosophy in life!
To no fault of her own, my Mom’s contract was rescinded. And when a Los Angeles Times reporter caught up with her in her new job as Assistant Superintendent, she said, “I’m happy, but I still have mixed emotions…because I can’t remember a time in my life when I started something I couldn’t finish. Compton was a new twist in my life.”
