Category Archives: African Americans

November 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1907: Louise Williams is arrested on charges of throwing her baby from an inbound train. “She was suddenly overwhelmed with the shame of meeting her mother and sisters at Los Angeles, who had not learned of her ruin,” her attorney said. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1947: Contralto Carol Brice to Perform in L.A.

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1947: Carol Brice, contralto, is performing at Philharmonic Auditorium on December 7. Continue reading →

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November 19, 1907: Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1907: An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. Continue reading →

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Black L.A. November 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks; St. Paul Baptist Church Plans a New Building

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks is at the Last Word, 4206 Central Ave. Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Sentinel Offers $100 for Proof That LAPD has Black Motorcycle Officer

Posted on November 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 6, 1947: The Sentinel offers a $100 reward to anyone who can identify a Black motorcycle officer in the LAPD. Continue reading →

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November 6, 1947: LAPD Officer Kills Black Suspect in Market Burglary

Posted on November 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 6, 1947: Clarence Wallas is shot during a struggle with Officer J.L. Brown during an attempted arrest in the burglary of a market. Officer R.F. Williams captures Roosevelt Everline, as he tried to flee. Continue reading →

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October 26, 1942: Lon Chaney’s Ghost Haunts Hollywood and Vine!

Posted on October 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 26, 1942: Councilman Norris Nelson tells a story about the ghost of Lon Chaney sitting on a bench at Hollywood and Vine. Continue reading →

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October 18, 1907: Newspaper Cartoonist Ted Gale Makes His Point

Posted on October 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 18, 1907: The Los Angeles Times features pen and ink drawings by “Gale.” That’s Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale, who contributed to The Times for years, creating “Miss L.A.,” then quit in 1934 to go to the Examiner. Continue reading →

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October 17, 1907: All-White USC Football Team Starts Race Riot Over Tackle by Black Player From Whittier

Posted on October 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 17, 1907: A Black player from Whittier State tackles a player for USC’s all-white team, setting off a fight between the teams. Continue reading →

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Black L.A., 1947: Sentinel Reports on City’s Segregated Fire Department

Posted on October 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 9, 1947: The Sentinel reports on segregation in the Fire Department. Publisher Leon H. Washington Jr. said “There are a number of qualified Negro firemen on the list who must wait until one of the present firemen dies or retires before they will be appointed to jobs.” Continue reading →

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October 5, 1907: White Neighbors Fight Hilliard Stricklin’s Retirement Home for Blacks

Posted on October 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 5, 1907: Hilliard Stricklin wanted to do something for his fellow Blacks: A facility for the elderly and orphaned children, naming it in honor of his mother. White neighbors thought he was bluffing until workers showed up on the site. And then they were furious. Continue reading →

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September 25, 1907: The Melancholy Prizefighter

Posted on September 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 25, 1907: Meet Joe Gans, a boxer whose name once echoed among fans of the ring now buried in the dusts of sporting history. Gans may well have been one of the finest fighters whoever lived. Continue reading →

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September 23, 1907: Rev. J.L. Griffin Baptizes 5 in Echo Park Lake

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1907: The Rev. J.L. Griffin baptizes five believers in Echo Park Lake as 2,000 watch. Continue reading →

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September 11, 1947: Al Jarvis Replies to L.A. Sentinel’s Charges of Racism

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1947: KLAC disc jockey Al Jarvis replies to Earl Griffin’s criticisms in last week’s Sentinel. “To knowingly plug a sponsor who discriminates against the Negro race is contrary to every belief I have ever had or ever will have.” Continue reading →

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September 7, 1947: The Comics Pages

Posted on September 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 7, 1947: A stroll through the comics pages. There’s Dick Tracy, Red Ryder, Aggie Mack and, of course Nancy and Sluggo. Continue reading →

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August 28, 1947: Margaret Harris Debuts in Piano Recital at Age 3

Posted on August 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 28, 1947: Margaret Harris, making her debut as a pianist at age 3, is splashed across the cover of the Los Angeles Sentinel. Harris was the musical director for “Hair” and the first Black woman to conduct the L.A. Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and many other major orchestras. Continue reading →

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August 27, 1903: 6,000 Union Army Veterans Gather to Recall the Campfires of Old

Posted on August 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 27, 2003: 6,000 Union Army veterans gather at Eastlake (Lincoln) Park in Los Angeles. And a minister endorses the lynching of Blacks. Continue reading →

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Aug. 22, 1947: 5 L.A. Women Doctors Honored at Medical Convention

Posted on August 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 22, 1947: Girls aspiring to careers should follow women physicians’ example—many have both satisfactory home and professional lives, Dr. E. Mae McCarroll says. Continue reading →

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August 16, 1947: L.A. Widow Says Louisiana Sheriff Failed to Protect Husband From Lynch Mob

Posted on August 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 16, 1947: Carrie Lee Jones, now of Los Angeles, sues Sheriff Oscar Haynes, alleging that Haynes failed to protect her late husband, John C. Jones, from a Minden, La., lynch mob. Continue reading →

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L.A. Welcomes Harbor Freeway Extension With Four-Block Traffic Jam

Posted on August 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 8, 1953: If you build it, they will drive. New extension of Harbor Freeway results in four-block traffic jam. And a Marine deserter is killed by a liquor store owner during an attempted robbery. Continue reading →

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