George Washington Sims Jr.

My father, George Washington Sims Jr., was born in Brownwood, Texas. Eventually, his family migrated to Santa Monica, and he went to Santa Monica High School, where he was quite the illustrious athlete. A local news article from the time reads: ‘George [Washington] Sims [Jr.], one of the greatest athletes to ever grace the portals of Samohi, made his last formal appearance before students of the Vike school yesterday. Sims, who has brought fame to Samohi on both the gridiron and the track, received one of the greatest ovations ever given an outgoing athlete. The Negro sensation was praised highly by Joe Day, his coach in both football and track, for his accomplishments.’ Mind you, from all we can tell, our father was the only Black male at Santa Monica High at the time. 

He went on to join the U.S. Army, fought in World War II, was a staff sergeant, and was the head of a tank-destroying squadron. We quizzed him often about his role in the war, and all he would say was it was quite ugly and he wasn't going to talk about it to his kids. He had medals from his service. After leaving the Army, he worked for the U.S. Post Office, until he retired at about 55. He and my mom ultimately bought a home in a White area known as View Park, in California. I believe we were only the second Black family to move into the area. When he retired, he opened a gas station, which helped to pay for college for folks in the family. My father, driven by his grandfather to a degree, really stressed the importance of education, and fortunately, most of his kids went on to college and reaped the benefits of that education.