Category Archives: African Americans

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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Aug. 3, 1947: ‘Kingsblood Royal’ by Sinclar Lewis Leads Bestseller List

Posted on August 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 3, 1947: Sinclair Lewis’ ‘Kingsblood Royal’ is the bestselling novel in Los Angeles, followed by ‘The Prince of Foxes,’ by Samuel Shellabarger, and ‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ by Laura Hobson. John Gunther’s ‘Inside U.S.A.’ is the bestselling nonfiction book. Continue reading →

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Aug. 2, 1947: Los Angeles County Clerk Refuses Marriage License for Interracial Couple

Posted on August 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Her name was Andrea and she was 24. His name was Sylvester and he was 26, a World War II veteran working at Lockheed. And … Continue reading →

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July 24, 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter, 17, Strangled

Posted on July 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

July 24, 1947: Jefferson High honor student Vesta Belle is found strangled in her bedroom. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Miriam Matthews, Pioneering Black Librarian, Advocate of L.A. History

Posted on March 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory profiles Miriam Matthews, Los Angeles’ first Black certified librarian, who was an advocate for Los Angeles history. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious guest wearing a dog mask. Continue reading →

Posted in 1978, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory takes a look at the career of Black skating star Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Peter P. Jones, Pioneering Black Photographer

Posted on February 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

In an encore post, Mary Mallory looks at the career of Black photographer Peter P. Jones, who shot production stills for Selznick Pictures. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow standing in a doorway. Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide: ‘Making Black Los Angeles’

Posted on December 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2018. I only recommend books that I have read, which is why I haven’t listed Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” or Stephen Gee’s “Los Angeles City Hall: An American Icon.” I look forward … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 21, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1949 film Lost Boundaries, with Beatrice Pearson, Mel Ferrer, Susan Douglas, the Rev Robert H. Dunn, Richard Hylton, Grace Coppin, Carleton Carpenter, Seth Arnold, Wendell Holmes, Parker Fennelly, Ralph Riggs, William Greaves, Rai Saunders, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Frank S. Hoover, Portrait Photographer and Apartment Developer

Posted on June 3, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Early Hollywood portrait photography developed from the need of stars for portraits to send out looking for roles, and from studios realizing the value of selling their product through stars. Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, African Americans, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Peter P. Jones, Pioneering Black Photographer

Posted on February 20, 2024 by lmharnisch

Booker T. Washington, photographed by Peter P. Jones, Chicago, about 1910, from the Library of Congress. During the early decades of the 1900s, few African Americans participated or worked for major moving picture studios in leading positions in front or … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Pioneering Black Movie Star

Posted on February 13, 2024 by lmharnisch

Often overlooked for her contribution to cinema, Nellie Conley, known onscreen as Madame Sul-Te-Wan, was the first African American signed to a film contract at a time when they possessed few rights or recognition in American society, unless they were … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 5, 2024 by lmharnisch

Mabel Fairbanks in the California Eagle, Nov. 8, 1945. Note: This is an encore post from 2022. Knockout African American ice skater Mabel Fairbanks wowed audiences from the 1940s through the 1960s. A true natural, she exuded joy and happiness … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Rose McClendon, First Lady of Black Theater

Posted on February 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Rose McClendon, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, via the New York Public Library. The first lady of the early Black stage, largely forgotten today, Rose McClendon set a blazing example of how talent could offer opportunity, even in difficult, discriminatory … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Stage | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 21, 2022 by lmharnisch

Mabel Fairbanks in the California Eagle, Nov. 8, 1945. Knockout African American ice skater Mabel Fairbanks wowed audiences from the 1940s through the 1960s. A true natural, she exuded joy and happiness twirling and gliding upon the ice. While extremely … Continue reading →

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