My grandmother escaped Jim Crow. Will we allow elder abuse to steal her legacy?

Douglass J. Fort
35 minutes ago
3 min read

Doug Fort, standing with sunglasses on, is shown with his family members and his grandmother, who is sitting behind her walker. Photo - Courtesy Douglass J. Fort

How East Palo Alto’s elders built generational wealth—and why we must protect it before it disappears.

In the photograph accompanying this article, several generations of my family surround the woman at the center of our story. To some readers, it may look like an ordinary family picture. To me, it represents nearly seventy years of Black history in East Palo Alto.

The woman seated at the center is my grandmother. She arrived in East Palo Alto in 1955 after escaping the Jim Crow South. Like many African Americans of her generation, she came west seeking opportunity, safety, and a future that was denied to her in the segregated South. What she built here was more than a home. She built a legacy. My grandmother was one of the Black pioneers who helped transform East Palo Alto into one of the most significant Black communities on the San Francisco Peninsula. For decades she worked, sacrificed, raised a family, paid taxes, and invested in a community she loved.

Today, at 98 years old, her story forces us to confront an uncomfortable reality: Who protects our elders when they become vulnerable? Across America, elder abuse has become one of the fastest-growing yet least discussed threats facing families. Financial exploitation often occurs quietly and behind closed doors. Victims are frequently individuals who spent decades accumulating assets only to become vulnerable because of age, illness, dementia, or declining cognitive capacity.

For many Black families, a home is not simply property. It is history. It is security. It is generational wealth. It is often the single largest asset passed from one generation to the next. When elderly homeowners become vulnerable, communities must pay attention. Warning signs should never be ignored. Sudden changes to long-standing estate plans. Isolation from family members. Significant financial transactions involving vulnerable seniors. Major loans or transfers involving properties that have been family assets for decades. This issue extends beyond any one family. It is about protecting the generation that built East Palo Alto. Our elders fought discrimination, redlining, and exclusion.

They purchased homes when many institutions worked against them. They built churches, businesses, organizations, and neighborhoods that continue to benefit future generations. Protecting elders should not be controversial. Ensuring that their true wishes are honored should not be controversial. Demanding transparency in significant financial transactions involving vulnerable seniors should not be controversial. My grandmother’s story is a reminder that every family should remain vigilant. Communities must speak openly about elder abuse and financial exploitation. We owe that much to the generation whose sacrifices made our opportunities possible. The generation that built East Palo Alto survived Jim Crow. They survived discrimination. They survived exclusion.

They survived because they believed their sacrifices would create a better future for those who came after them. We honor that sacrifice by protecting them. We honor that sacrifice by protecting their wishes.

We honor that sacrifice by protecting their legacy. Because when we fail to protect our elders, we lose more than property. We lose history. We lose trust. And we lose a piece of the community they worked so hard to build.

Douglass J. Fort is the founder of For Youth By Youth and The Blerd Academy and has served for more than 15 years as a court-qualified expert in gangs, prison culture, and urban communities. He was born and raised in East Palo Alto and remains committed to preserving the history and legacy.