00:00:01.039 - 00:00:23.110

My name is B Ruth Allen and I'm just um delighted to be here. I am a real estate professional. I've been in the business now for over 40 years and I do not work hard. I um get have leads on properties that people want to sell

00:00:23.260 - 00:00:45.180

and I give them to agents since I am a broker. Ok. I live in South Los Angeles. It's considered the county strip. And um, and I've been there since 1991 or two. I'm the youngest of four. Uh We were foster cared when at birth, my birth

00:00:45.189 - 00:01:08.779

mother passed away four months after I was born. And um the social worker that came to rescue my family, really rescued us because she decided to parent us. And I was just taught God makes families and she just raised us to trust the, the word and

00:01:09.050 - 00:01:24.709

be able to take up something you'd like to do and be able to make a living for it so you can take care of yourself. I grew up born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And when I was four years old, my mother took me to the

00:01:24.720 - 00:01:44.080

library and said to me, you can go anywhere in the world here. And, um, when I was in high school, I just decided I wanted to leave Philadelphia to go somewhere to go to college because that was just the next step. So I decided I was

00:01:44.089 - 00:02:05.360

gonna go to the library and look at different colleges and different places. And my mother's friend was the a librarian and she was said to me, well, if you wanna really leave, they're coming up with a lot of programs for people like us, African Americans can

00:02:05.370 - 00:02:20.229

go to college and it's not gonna cost a lot, but it's in Los Angeles, California right after the Watts riot. I said, oh, that's far. And she said, oh yeah. And she showed me on the map we're here in Philly and then she showed me it's

00:02:20.240 - 00:02:33.899

way over here and, and you know, and on the west coast and I was like, wow, I don't know if my mom will let me go. And so I went home and I said, mommy, when you go to different cities, where do you stay? Because my

00:02:33.910 - 00:02:49.729

mother was a missionary. She said I stay at the y where I take you some time. I said, do they have some of those in Los Angeles, California? And she said, yeah, why are you asking? I said, because they have colleges there too and I think

00:02:49.740 - 00:03:06.919

I might want to go there. She said that's so far that's across the country. I said, but I wanna go far because the Liberian said it doesn't snow at Christmas there. That was the catch for me. And so she said, well, we're gonna pray about that.

00:03:07.110 - 00:03:24.130

I talked to my counselor in high school and she said, well, you got to take the, uh, entrance exams. The SAT and the AC T I said, ok, and she set it up for me to take the AC T and the SAT and I had saved,

00:03:24.139 - 00:03:40.289

you know, money that you know, and the Lord just blessed them. The day I left, I was, they had the whole church there praying for me to have safe travels and stuff like that. I had this money bag that my mother made. I could just hold

00:03:40.300 - 00:03:55.570

it on my arm and oh my goodness, the people were just there from the church and they were just hugging me and giving me money and oh, I never saw so many 10 and $20 bills. I was getting on the bus coming to Los Angeles, California

00:03:55.580 - 00:04:17.350

graduated June of 66 turned 18, July of 66 in October of 66. Got on the bus and came to Los Angeles by myself. I went out and got a taxi. I said I wanna go to the Hayward Hotel because at the Hayward Hotel was a floor.

00:04:17.570 - 00:04:33.559

The why I didn't know Los Angeles, of course it was walking distance from, but I didn't know. And the cab driver he took me on a little tour just to run up to meet her a little bit. And I just paid what I had what he

00:04:33.570 - 00:04:45.619

said. And then I gave him a tip. He said, thank you. He said, um, here's my, he had a card. He said, here's my card. Let me know if you want to go somewhere else. My mother had made a reservation for me. I had her make

00:04:45.630 - 00:05:04.720

it for B Ruth Allen. My first name is Bertha and I decided I was gonna drop that and be known as B Ruth. I like my middle name. The person I can't, I keep forgetting his name with his, his position that he was in charge of

00:05:04.730 - 00:05:21.290

all the valet guys. He talked to me and told me that what floor the Y was on and um different things I could do. And he said you're by yourself. He said, I'm going to give you a tip and I want you to remember this. He

00:05:21.299 - 00:05:40.829

said if you watch TV, and it's like late at night, 10 o'clock and you get, you're going up to your room. He said, if you push the elevator and there's a man there and he's gonna get on the elevator, you get off. I was like, ok,

00:05:40.839 - 00:05:56.940

why? He said, just do what I said and I did, they had a room where you could type and print off your resume or whatever, fill out applications. They had a television room and it was nice and it was on the mezzanine floor. When I first

00:05:56.950 - 00:06:12.779

got here, I worked, I got a job. I went to the unemployment office to be kept and taught me, told me where to go. The person that you talk to at the unemployment office had some, a really beautiful set of flowers, a bouquet on her desk.

00:06:12.790 - 00:06:28.890

I said, oh, those gladiolas are so nice. And so she said, you know, flowers. I said, oh yeah. Um I, I majored in restaurant practice in the first year I had to decorate cakes. So I had to learn different flowers to put on them. And so

00:06:28.899 - 00:06:45.959

she says I got a, I got a card here. They need somebody in the floral district and it was right down the street from the hotel. It was so awesome. You know, I forgot all about going to college. I just was like working and going to

00:06:45.970 - 00:07:00.790

the back to the Y and doing things that they had at the Y to do and just kind of meeting people. And then I went, ended up going, I said, well, I gotta find a church to go to. So I remember hearing on the radio about

00:07:00.799 - 00:07:17.579

the church of the open door and it was right downtown L A for J Vernon mcgee. And I went there and everybody, every tribe was represented. And so I was like, man, this is pretty cool. And then one morning I can remember waking up and saying,

00:07:19.019 - 00:07:36.970

I don't wanna go to a black people church. So I got up one day and put my like, I'm going to a black people church, walked over to Broadway and a bus came and it said Altadena, Santa Monica, something like that. I, I didn't know those

00:07:36.980 - 00:07:52.769

places and I saw this sister, she got off the bus and she was dressed, she had a hat on. I said, oh, I know she going to church and then the bus came a PICO and she got on it. I got on it. We, we rode

00:07:52.779 - 00:08:09.549

down PICO and when she got up, I got up, she got off, I got off. So I get to this church. This little church on the corner is beautiful. I go in there. I said, oh, just like daddy's church, just like my church. I, I grew

00:08:09.559 - 00:08:26.529

up in well doing the service. You know, they say, well, all the visitors please stand. So I stood up, told them my name and they welcomed me after service. I was walking out and the pastor was there just shaking. And he said, young lady, how did

00:08:26.540 - 00:08:40.359

you happen to find Bethany? I said, I followed this lady. He said, what lady? I was like, oh, I don't know. He said, well, do you see her? I said, no, he said, well, you can come back and visit us. I said, I will cause you

00:08:40.369 - 00:08:55.760

teach Jesus. I knew my way back because I knew the bus, the kids to go back. It was so awesome. I had gone there maybe two or three months and he got up, the pastor got up and he said, I want to meet all the young

00:08:55.770 - 00:09:13.940

people that are college age after service. Please stay ba ba, ba, ba ba. He said, young lady, you ought to be in college. And he called this lady. He said, Gussie because I told him who I want my name. And he and I was regular. He

00:09:13.950 - 00:09:34.400

said, get, get this girl in school. And the pastor said to me, we will help you. If you want to go to college, we will pay for your books. And I was like, wow, I was, and so I got in the first EOP program and I

00:09:34.409 - 00:09:55.359

would chose Cal State Fullerton because they had a nice program. It was beautiful out there and it was just nice. And um, I was, it was 54 of us that was in the first eop program at Cal State Fullerton. My mother came to visit me and

00:09:55.369 - 00:10:08.150

of course she went to the church and, oh my goodness, they just loved her and just said, oh, we, we got, we gonna be looking out for her and you don't have to worry about her. And then she said, I know because she has found a

00:10:08.159 - 00:10:25.320

home and it was just so awesome. I just remember calling mommy said, Mommy, I signed up to go on this thing called the Floating Campus. I just have to write a paper. I don't know where to start. And mommy said, just tell them your life story.

00:10:25.369 - 00:10:46.359

Mommy said when I met you, you were four months old and they selected me. So, um when I went on the trip and finished, I, I came back and then I, I finished college and I moved to Altadena Pasadena and because it was closer to Cal

00:10:46.369 - 00:11:03.070

State L A and I was gonna get my teaching credential. So I was there for maybe a year or so. And then I moved back to L A because I was tired of the commute to my church. Bethany, I still love them and was part of

00:11:03.080 - 00:11:16.719

Bethany. So I came back to South L A. People would say to me, well, you could go to Pepperdine and get your, your teaching credentials. But I was already registered at Cal State LA. I said, no, I'll just finish. And the Lord bless me. I had

00:11:16.729 - 00:11:36.159

a car and I just zoom. Zoom. Zoom. And so, yeah, that's how I came back. I was in a sociology class and I was doing a answering a question that the professor asked, another teacher walked in. Professor walked in. I didn't know he just walked in

00:11:36.349 - 00:11:50.469

and he just stood there. Anyway, he goes to the EOP program and tells the people he wants me to be in on the debating team and they would take us to different schools to debate. And most of the time it was like, it, it was always

00:11:50.479 - 00:12:06.989

about the schools, the elementary schools, you know, I would do my research. If they wanted me to be for bussing, I could find statistics that supported it. And if they wanted me to be against bussing, I could find statistics that were against bussing. So, I mean,

00:12:07.000 - 00:12:22.520

you know, when I came back, I got an apartment right in o off of Adams and Western. And it was just wonderful because I was working, doing things in the school, helping students. They had a problem and then I got a job working for a uh

00:12:22.549 - 00:12:35.940

uh a pro a program and they help kids with homework. I'm trying, I can't remember the name of that company but they help kids with their homework and parents would just bring their kids and I would help kids. And one of the things I found out

00:12:36.570 - 00:12:56.690

because I was working right off of Santa Barbara and La Brea area and they call this area, the jungle up there. And I was working with those, the Children there. A lot of their parents were illiterate, they couldn't help them. The kids', parents couldn't help them.

00:12:57.380 - 00:13:17.809

So I started working with the parents. I helped a lot of adults become literate. It was amazing. People can read their own bills. Well, what I, what I really love about it. Is many communities in South L A. They have homeowners clubs. We don't call it

00:13:17.820 - 00:13:39.080

an association. We just call the homeowners meeting the person that's over it. His name is Mr Porter. He'll tell people what's going on and he talks to the politicians and I've seen change as far as for the better, as far as, um, houses that people are

00:13:39.090 - 00:13:57.270

not in a position to put paint on them. We now have a place because Mr Porter keep pushing where we can call because we need paint, a house painted. I've been involved in just pointing Mr Porter to where he needs to go and he's with the

00:13:57.280 - 00:14:13.760

politicians and he's an older gentleman and he just says, you know, thank you for telling me that. You know, I didn't know I could do that but see, I watched my mother do that. She taught us you lo use your elected officials. My mother was on

00:14:13.799 - 00:14:34.590

a committee to have you're an elected official put in the pump yellow pages and that when that passed, that was big. And that's what I tell people on my block. That's why it's a nice block because we have someone to go to, I tell them who

00:14:34.599 - 00:14:50.539

to go to. And it's just wonderful, you know, you have a person that's in charge and they get all the information from all the politicians around and then they come and tell us what's going on in our neighborhoods. And I really like that, you know, neighborhoods

00:14:50.549 - 00:15:09.390

go through the changes. And, um, my profession it takes me to different neighborhoods. You know, I remember buying a six unit building and I wasn't really sure about the neighborhood, but it was such a good deal. And, um, I really understood why the man sold it

00:15:09.400 - 00:15:25.030

because he had folks in the property that didn't, wouldn't pay their rent. But I knew how to approach him since I have an education. And I would just make it real plain. You know, I give you a three day notice and if you haven't paid and

00:15:25.039 - 00:15:42.349

then they would have to see the process and then it just kind of corrected and then I would sell the building. I help folks get in it and they, like, there's nobody like you b ruth. I'm like, we're all different. My block has changed. I've been

00:15:42.359 - 00:16:04.010

there since I can't remember. I bought that house in 92. The area where the college was Pepperdine. It really, when they left it changed. They thought, because the college was there. I think they thought the values of their property was gonna go down but it didn't,

00:16:04.130 - 00:16:25.130

it went up, people then wanted to go, come there and, uh, I sold many properties in there and it just kind of made it nice. I know personally. No, two or three families that lived there and their kids went there to their college to Pepperdine. Yes.

00:16:25.700 - 00:16:45.484

Yes. I just remember people were wondering what was gonna happen next. I was just told they had found another location to have their college. I had a friend whose sister lived there and raised her Children there and two of them went to the college and, but

00:16:45.494 - 00:16:59.770

she was just kind of like, I wonder what's gonna happen now, who's gonna get that, da, da, da, da. And then I think a church went there. Yeah. But she was just, they were just concerned about what, who was gonna be there. A lot of the

00:16:59.780 - 00:17:19.538

community. I know about three or four families in there, you know? And they were like, wow, we don't know what's going on. You know, where I live, I live in the county and I want them to know that, um, it's that just that strip, many don't

00:17:19.548 - 00:17:39.959

know the history of it. That strip and those houses there were built when the Dodgers came to town, it's a nice community because they're custom made and I had the opportunity to sell a couple of houses in there. And, um, you know, when the Dodgers moved

00:17:39.969 - 00:17:58.140

on, but that's where they were and people don't know that history. It has history. West Athens. Life is, you know, things cycles are repeated, you know. But we think it's just us. No, it's, no, it's not new. It's new to us but it's not new. It's

00:17:58.369 - 00:17:59.270

not new but it's new to us.