The City of Pasadena has recently initiated thoughtful conversations about our elected leadership's role in the Pasadena Improvement Association, which advocated for the broad adoption of racially restrictive housing covenants in the 1930s and 1940s. That meaningful dialogue led the attorneys of Hahn & Hahn to examine the role our firm played in this reprehensible part of Pasadena's history. We learned that attorneys at our firm at that time were involved in advising the City and the Pasadena Improvement Association on implementing the restrictive covenants. These actions are antithetical to the values of the firm we strive to be. The attorneys of today's Hahn & Hahn, certified as a majority Women & Minority Owned Business Enterprise in 2017, unreservedly condemn Pasadena's history of racist housing policies and our firm’s participation. Today, more than 85 percent of Hahn & Hahn personnel identify as female, BIPOC, and/or LGBTQ+.
We have brought together the existing Pasadena organizations that participated in the Pasadena Improvement Association and organizations representing the historically marginalized communities most adversely impacted by Pasadena's housing policies and convened an ongoing dialogue. This group is currently developing educational materials covering the history of the Pasadena Improvement Association, housing activism in the 1930s and 1940s, and current housing discussions that will be made freely available to educators and the public alike.