RPCV David Littleton to retire
Longtime Pittsburg teacher to retire in June
DAVID LITTLETON of Bay Point has lived in East County for 24 years. He moved here to be closer to his job. He also moved for cheaper housing and a better quality of life. He loved the open space, which has diminished exponentially by the year. In his view, the area has grown much faster than the infrastructure to support the growth.
As a result, the quality of life has become questionable. Littleton was born and raised in Houston, Texas for the first 15 years of his life, and attended Houston public schools through 10th grade, attending Jack Yates High School where, at the time, Houston had the largest segregated public school system in the United States and the most expansive busing program. He moved from Houston to Bryan, Texas at 15 to live with his paternal grandmother, Carrie Littleton, and complete his remaining two years of high school. He graduated in 1957 from E.A. Kemp High School.
His parents are David and Elizabeth Greer Littleton. His parents separated when he was 2. His father laid the groundwork for his son's subsequent move to Oakland when he moved there within a year after the breakup of his marriage.
Littleton was fortunate to have a dad who never neglected his responsibility of being a father or forgot he had a son. Though far, far away a check arrived every two weeks and it was his joy when the Railway Express truck pulled up in front of his house to make a delivery for special days and occasions. He was also fortunate to inherit his dad's physicality and passion for social justice and his mother's intellectual capacity. He also benefited from the guidance of his surrogate mother-grandmother, Louise Carney Jarrett -- who also raised his mother.
He considered himself fortunate to be an only child because it would have been far more difficult to leave Houston if he had other siblings. Considering his mother's heroin addiction he felt no child should be left to endure under such conditions alone.
He has been married to his wife, Trudii, for 20 years. The couple met in Pittsburg. He has four children: Djamal E. Littleton, 34; Daud Djadi, 30; and twin daughters Djenne and Djuani, 12.
Littleton has been employed with Pittsburg Unified School District for 33 years as a teacher at Pittsburg High School. He has also taught for 26 years part-time in the Peralta College District. Just prior to starting at Pittsburg High in 1971 he was employed for six years with the state Human Resources Department. Prior to that he worked for the Monterey County Natividad Boy's Ranch until called for the draft.
His hobbies are vast and varied. They include writing fiction and nonfiction (one fiction piece started, and another in his head), photography, reading and music.
He vehemently dislikes bullies, social injustice, and those who blame others for their misfortunes when the blame is often theirs. He dislikes the neglect of children that happens in all tiers of society. His favorite like is seeing the underdog succeed against the odds.
As an athlete he has traveled from Washington to Florida and Hawaii. The Peace Corps allowed him to experience Asia. This was all beyond the scope of a poor colored child's wildest imagination.
An honor special to him is being named teacher of the year so many times by students. The honor is even more special to him because students he had never taught would have had to vote in order to make it possible.
Another honor was to be named Young Man of the Year for the city of Arcata in 1964 for work he was doing in town with young people for the Junior Chamber. The significance was there were only 10 African-Americans living in the town -- all students at Humboldt State University.
He attended Oakland City College (1957-59), Humboldt State University (1957-64), College of the Holy Names (1968, its first male admission); UC Berkeley (1971-73). He graduated in absentia from Hayward State University in 1971, because he took off to the Peace Corps, and started looking to raise a family upon his return.
He has earned a bachelor's degree with a double major of physical education and language arts, and nine minors.
One of his greatest joys has been the healthy birth of his children. He will retire in June after 33 years with Pittsburg Unified School District. He and his family will be moving to Humboldt County in the fall. His primary focus after retiring will be writing.
He has made a big difference by helping educate thousands of students in Pittsburg.
The column of Bishop Curtis A. Timmons, Th.D., an Antioch pastor, appears each Thursday. Write to him at 301 West 10th St., Suite 7, Antioch, CA 94509 or P.O. Box 8213, Pittsburg, CA 94565, call him at 925-753-1830 or send e-mail to BishopCT@hotmail.com. He also has a Web site at www.BishopTimmons.com. The opinions in this column are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the newspaper. The bishop always welcomes recommendations of outstanding citizens who live or work in East County.
