The Charles V. Bush Library was dedicated on Wednesday, February 24th, 2016. The library is made possible by a generous grant from the Charles V. Bush Foundation and through a donation from the Carden Conejo Parents’ Association.
Furthering its commitment to the celebration and appreciation of diversity, Carden Conejo School established the Charles V. Bush Library on its Westlake Village campus during Black History Month. With “Let Reading Take You Anywhere” as its theme, the new space honors Bush’s legacy by encouraging a joy of reading and cultural diversity. Students enjoy a colorful mural depicting children around the world and a hot-air balloon story time corner.
Charles V. Bush became the first African American to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court page in 1954 – the same year the court desegregated public schools – by Justice Earl Warren. In 1963 he became the first black graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and served as an intelligence officer decorated with the Bronze Star Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and two awards of the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Bush went on to earn a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Georgetown University in 1964 and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Harvard University in 1972. In the years before his 2012 passing, he acted as a diversity consultant to the U.S. Air Force Academy and coined the phrase “Diversity is a Leadership Issue”.
A thirty-year resident of the Conejo Valley, Charles and his wife of nearly fifty years, Tina raised their three children in Calabasas, where their youngest daughter Bettina Bush still resides. Her two children are students of Carden Conejo School where she serves on the Carden Conejo Parents’ Association as Community Service Board member.