Oral History

Lamisha T. Brown Interview

Themes:
Subjects:
Peninsula Sports Academy, Temetrius Paxton, Onetta Harris Center, RoadRunners, Betty Darnese Smith, McDonalds, Jill Smith, Oakwood Market, Black Top Ballas, Bell Street Recreation Center, Cooley Market, Andre Brown, Lamisha T. Brown
Date of Creation or Publication:
10/24/2025
Creator
Meda Okelo
Donor
Lamisha T. Brown
Language
English
Copyright Statement:
Interview of Lamisha T. Brown by Meda Okelo. Topics include: moving to EPA around 1982 when she was about 4 years old; her early interest in sports, especially basketball; playing at Bell Street Recreation Center and at Onetta Harris and the programs run there by Aaron Johnson; middle school in Redwood City around 1987 through the Tinsley Program to improve her behavior; remembering local businesses including ones in Whiskey Gulch; the first McDonalds in EPA and its monitors playing videos of community events; Jill Smith who became a mentor to her and others; her issues with drugs; going away to college in 1996, eventually returning to EPA in 2005 and starting her career coaching basketball at Flood School; partnering with Temetrius Paxton in creating Peninsula Sports Academy, splitting off to form Blacktop Ballas and retiring in 2025; some of the kids she coached; notable people in her life; the nonprofit she started in 2020, So Many Choices Community Project, helping youth being released from jail, now helping young girls who had babies; why she always returns to the community; future wishes for EPA; and other topics.

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