Rac
ial discrimination and unrest are intertwined with the history of Long Beach and Southern California in Ms. Burnett’s latest book. African Americans in Long Beach and Southern California begins in the 1800s and continues to 1970, reaching into later years to describe what that history has led to today. Ms. Burnett spent over five years researching recently digitized African American newspapers which has allowed her access to the black perspective on issues rarely written about in the white press or by other authors. Personal stories, legislation, Southland history and possible solutions to decades old problems are presented, making for an interesting and informative read. It is a unique, seminal work, sure to open the eyes of many.
Here’s a sample of what you will find:
FORMER SLAVES
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Gold rush pioneer Nate Harrison who escaped slavery, fleeing to Southern California.
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Abram and Amanda Cleag, who persevered despite severe tragedies.
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Jefferson L. Edmonds, owner/editor of the African American newspaper the Liberator, born a slave in Virginia who considered how fortunate he had been to have kind owners.
HISTORY
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How Willmore City became Long Beach and the growth of the city.
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Advent of the railroad in Southern California.
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The Ku Klux Klan.
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African Americans in the Civil War, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, and Korea.
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Long Beach Earthquake of 1933 and the 1932 Olympics.
HEROES
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D. H. Hoyt, who led rescue efforts to help those trapped in the Hotel Virginia collapse, despite his own injuries.
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Warren Jordan, a decorated Army veteran who became Long Beach’s first African American police officer.
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Bailey Johnson, a doorman at the Breakers Hotel, who proudly wore his Croix de Guerre with Palm, and a Purple Heart awarded him for heroic service during WWI.
LEGISLATION
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Fugitive Slave Law.
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Atlantic Compromise of 1895.
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Civil Rights Acts.
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Rumford Fair Housing Act.
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Affirmative Action.
KILLINGS
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Anthony Wilkins shot by an off-duty LA policeman at the Hollywood Bowl.
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Ron Settles found dead in a Signal Hill jail cell.
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Rev. William Hardy who, in helping a parishioner, was convicted of murder.
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R.C.O. Benjamin murdered while helping register blacks to vote in Kentucky.
ACTIVISTS
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Ernest McBride, Lavade Jones, Roscoe Hayes and Nathan Holly who brought the NAACP to Long Beach.
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Darthula Bouggess and Willie White who established the Roland Hayes Political Study Club and an educational scholarship for African Americans.
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Elijah Lane, who led a protest against a game on the Pike known as “Drowning the Nig***”
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George H. Hawkins who helped form the Colored Business Men’s League of Los Angeles.
Comments such as this one have been received from local African Americans: Charles Brown, community advocate, who received an advance copy writes: I couldn’t wait… I just completed a “quick scan” of your draft, and I am overwhelmed by the thoroughness and clarity of what I did have chance to survey. I can tell you now that it is the most definitive coverage of African American History in the Long Beach/Southern California area, I have read. I was struck by the depth of documentation and resources you had available to you to not only validate the information you imparted, but also provided the context and “flavor” of the times it was written. Again, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of the soon to be growing tribe of aficionados of your work.
Watch the video of author Claudine Burnett discussing her book.
