Non-Profit

SECTION 14 SURVIVORS, INC. - NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

The 501c3 Status for the Section 14 Foundation, a separate entity, is pending.

The primary objectives and purposes of this organization is be to be a vehicle of support to help improve the quality of overall life for the Survivors and Descendants, and to assist the community and individuals impacted by the City of Palm Springs Section 14 Housing and Community Destruction.

  • Oversee the purchase or gifting of any land to construct affordable, apartments, self-help housing, cooperative apartments, and modular housing. Thereafter obtain financing and housing developers to implement such housing programs for Descendants (hereinafter called the Descendants), or Survivors wherever possible include mixing income-based housing programs.
  • Offer grants and business loans to Descendants after referring individuals to the Small Business Administration for training and skills development.
  • Offer an annual Life Skills training for the Descendants covering all topics such as homeownership, budgeting, and community (government/non-profit) resources.
  • Offer scholarships to the Descendants upon gainful admission to an accredited college, university, or vocational school.

BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Pearl Devers

Co-Founder, President, Survivor

Pearl Devers

Co-Founder, President, Survivor
Pearl Taylor Devers is a multi-talented individual known for her roles as a film producer, civil rights advocate, and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of Legacy Edutainment Corporation, which celebrates the contributions of people of color. Devers gained prominence for producing the award-winning film, the Rosa Parks Story. With a 20-year tenure at ABC/Disney, she has extensive TV production experience, including coordinating Oscars' Red-Carpet Arrivals. She also manages her musician brother Alvin Taylor and has directed California’s Rosa Parks youth program.

A Palm Springs native, she is a widow and mother of two, with 5 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild, who she affectionately refers to as her "Precious Golden Rings.”

Alvin Taylor

Co-Founder, Survivor

Alvin Taylor

Co-Founder, Survivor
Alvin Taylor, a native of Palm Springs, is a professional drummer, producer, music director and artist developer. He is the owner and CEO of ATM (Alvin Taylor Music) Productions.

He was discovered by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Little Richard, and Billy Preston, at the Biltmore Hotel where he was a busboy, who doubled as a drummer with the house band. After Little Richard saw him play, he hired him on the spot. Thus, his career began. He has established worldwide recognition in the music and entertainment industry. He’s played with George Harrison, of The Beatles, Elton John, Tina Turner, Cher, Bill Withers, and many others.

Gloria Thompson

Treasurer, Survivor

Gloria Thompson

Treasurer, Survivor
Gloria Holland Thompson was born in Palm Springs, California, and began her career at Merrill Lynch at 19. She later moved to Los Angeles and worked in finance, eventually heading the IRA department at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Partnering with a stockbroker, she worked at Bear Sterns and EF Hutton before concluding her 37-year career at Oppenheimer & Company, specializing in money management. Retiring in 2003, she moved to Fayetteville, Georgia, in 2009 to focus on her passion for writing children's stories, earning a diploma from the Institute of Children’s Literature in 2016.

Robert De'Von Jiles, PhD

Board Member, Descendant

Robert De'Von Jiles, PhD

Board Member, Descendant
Dr. Jiles serves as the chair of the research team and Voices of Section 14 committee. His grandparents Cullen B. and Viola Wilson migrated from Houston Texas to Palm Springs California in 1948 and settled in Section 14. Dr. Jiles has a master’s in Africana Studies and a PhD in American Studies. He is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at California State University, Chico where he teaches classes about black history, culture, and the politics of Black community and identity. His current research focuses on Black community building influenced by inter & intra group politics.

Delia Taylor

Assistant Secretary, Survivor

Delia Taylor

Assistant Secretary, Survivor
Born and raised in Palm Springs, Delia Ruiz Taylor is a Mexican American inventor and entrepreneur. She is the owner and CEO of Creatively Mine. She has a patent and a provisional patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is currently working on a trademark to secure her inventions.

She loves working and teaching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren about her love of crafts and creativity.

Tomeeka Grizzell

Board Member, Descendant

Tomeeka Grizzell

Board Member, Descendant

Diane Mulich-Hines

Board Member

Diane Mulich-Hines

Board Member
Diane moved to Palm Springs, in 1956 and spent 35 years in the healthcare industry, notably as a caregiver for her parents. Married for over 54 years to Vietnam Veteran and 4th generation Section 14 Survivor, Chuck, they have two children and three grandchildren.

Diane has a long history of community service, holding various commission seats in Cathedral City for 30 years and being involved in veterans' events. Currently, she works part-time for the County of Riverside's Registrar Voters Office, serving Coachella Valley for over 13 years in multiple roles.

Omar Valdez

Board Member, Survivor

Omar Valdez

Board Member, Survivor
Omar Valdez had a 15-year career as a Benefit Authorizer at the Social Security Administration in Richmond, California, before retiring in 2020. Prior to that, he worked for 22 years in retail and framing design at Creative Merchandisers in San Rafael. Omar holds a degree in Chicano/Latino Studies from Sonoma State University and a master's in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University.

He now resides in Concord, California, with his wife Tina, pursuing writing, music, and art. He has two wonderful daughters and six loving grandchildren.

WHO

Section 14 Survivors – members who lived on Section 14 – aka the Reservation – and experienced the harm.

Descendants – children and grandchildren of residents that lived on Section 14.

WHAT/WHEN

In the early 1960s, the Palm Springs residing Mayor Frank Bogert issued an order to destroy the homes of Section 14 residents. The residents were not given sufficient notice, and many did not receive any notification.

Residents were abruptly forced from their homes; the homes were burned down by the city’s fire department and bulldozed to the ground.

Many residents came home from work and school to find their homes demolished. Over 200 homes were destroyed, contributing to many years of ongoing harm. More information can be obtained about Section 14 in the 1968 Attorney General’s report, which described this action as a “city-engineered holocaust.”

Fast forward 60 years: The city council of Palm Springs recently issued an apology for the housing destruction and the harm done to the Section 14 residents.