Bridges of Reform: Interracial Civil Rights Activism in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles PDF
Preview Bridges of Reform: Interracial Civil Rights Activism in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles
Bridges of Reform This page intentionally left blank Bridges of Reform Interracial Civil Rights Activism in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles Shana Bernstein 1 2011 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2011 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Portions of this book were published in an earlier form as “From California to the Nation: Rethinking the History of 20th Century U.S. Civil Rights Struggles through a Mexican American, and Multiracial, Lens” in the B erkeley La Raza Law Journal Vol. 18 (2007) and “From Civic Defense to Civil Rights: The Growth of Jewish American Interracial Civil Rights Activism in Los Angeles” in A Cultural History of Jews in California: The Jewish Role in American Life, An Annual Review , Vol. 7, ed. by Bruce Zuckerman, and are reproduced here by permission of the B erkeley La Raza Law Journal and Purdue University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-533166-0 978-0-19-533167-7 (pbk.) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bernstein, Shana. Bridges of reform : interracial civil rights activism in twentieth-century Los Angeles / Shana Bernstein. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-533166-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-19-533167-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Civil rights movements—California—Los Angeles—History—20th century. 2. Community life—California—Los Angeles—History—20th century. 3. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Race relations—History—20th century. 4. Cultural pluralism—California—Los Angeles—History— 20th century. 5. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Social conditions—20th century. I. Title. F869.L89A24 2010 979.4'94053—dc22 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To Roberta Bernstein and Monte Bernstein This page intentionally left blank Contents Abbreviations, viii Acknowledgments, ix Illustrations and Maps, xiii Introduction, 3 C hapter 1 Los Angeles, the Early Years, 16 Chapter 2 Shadows of War, Forces for Change, 28 Chapter 3 The War Comes Home, 60 C hapter 4 Cold Warriors of a Different Stripe, 100 Chapter 5 The Community Service Organization and Interracial Civil Rights Activism in the Cold War Era, 138 Chapter 6 Los Angeles to the Nation, 185 Conclusion: A Lasting Legacy, 201 Notes, 209 Bibliography, 291 Index, 321 Abbreviations ACLU American Civil Liberties Union AFL The American Federation of Labor CCC Council for Civic Unity CFCU California Federation for Civic Unity CIO Congress of Industrial Organizations CRC Community Relations Committee CSO Community Service Organization LACPFB Los Angeles Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Acknowledgments I could not have written this book without the assistance, support, encouragement, and love of a wide community of institutions, colleagues, friends, and family. A number of fellowship programs provided me the time and funds necessary to research and write. They made this project possible and I am very grateful for their support. The Department of History, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford University awarded me generous fellowships and teaching assistantships. The Mellon Foundation spon- sored a Stanford dissertation grant and later a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University, while the Newberry Library provided work space at a crucial juncture. Grants and fellowships from the Historical Society of Southern California and the Haynes Foundation, the Huntington Library, Temple University’s Feinstein Center for Jewish Studies, and Southwestern University enabled me to continue my research and writing. For the last several years Southwestern University has been my academic home. I am grateful for its support, including awarding me multiple grants from the Brown Foundation and the Cullen Foundation. Many colleagues and friends have assisted me over the years, whether with this project specifi cally or with more general guidance and advice. I am indebted to the caring and inspirational professors in Stanford University’s Department of History, where this book began as my disser- tation. I have learned much from Estelle Freedman’s deep dedication to social justice issues and to collaborative learning and from Richard White’s wisdom and insight. My two advisors, Gordon Chang and Al Camarillo, nurtured this study from its beginning. Gordon helped sustain this project with his thoughtfulness, support, and common decency, while Al’s model of socially engaged academia has set standards to which I aspire. I also benefi ted from professors outside Stanford University, especially Bill Deverell, who has been a wonderful friend, supporter, and mentor. Pedro Castillo, Mary Felstiner, Richard Roberts, and Krystyna von Henneberg have encouraged me with their enthusiasm and exper- tise. Others shone light on the then-mysterious publishing process,
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