Category Archives: African Americans

Black L.A., 1947: ‘Why Do 14-Year-Old Girls Get Drunk and Fall Into Bed With Men?’ Judge Asks

Posted on February 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

The Sentinel runs a publicity photo of Flora Washington, who released “Broken Hearted” and “If I Ever Cry, You’ll Never Know” on the United Artist label in 1946. Flora Washington sings “Broken Hearted” via Archive.org.   Feb. 13, 1947: Municipal … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Judge Backs Racial Ban, Orders Native Americans Out of West Hollywood Home

Posted on February 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Feb. 13, 1947: Dorothy Bradley becomes the first African American cashier hired at the Safeway grocery store in Watts. She was hired as the result of a campaign by the Watts Citizens Welfare committee protesting Safeway’s refusal to hired black … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Jazz Musicians Outraged by Esquire Jazz Book for 1947

Posted on February 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Feb. 13, 1947: Coming to the Shrine Auditorium – Esquire Award winners Lester Young, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Lucky Thompson, Benny Carter, Dodo Marmarosa, Barney Kessell and Vic Dickenson. Feb. 13, 1947: Esquire magazine began an annual poll in 1943 … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Black Passenger Sues Greyhound After Driver Has Her Arrested for Not Giving Up Seat

Posted on February 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

  At left, a three-unit property at 3509 5th Ave., listed for sale in 1947 at $17,500. Above, the property sold for $600,000 in 2016, according to Zillow. Feb. 6, 1947: The Sentinel reports on a lawsuit filed by Alpha … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Ascot Hills Rapist, Shot by Police, Faces 51 Counts

Posted on February 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Minton R. Scott, the Ascot Hills Rapist, after being shot in the head by police. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive. Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA Feb. 6, 1947: Minton Robert Scott is accused of being … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Black, Jewish Protesters Picket Disney’s ‘Song of the South’ at RKO Hillstreet

Posted on February 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Above, the “trackless trolley,” which was powered by overhead cables but used tires rather than running on rails, is coming to Central Avenue. The trackless trolleys solved streetcars’ problems of maneuverability (passengers could board and disembark at the curb rather … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Dodgers Organization Signs 3 More Negro League Stars

Posted on February 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Feb. 6, 1947: Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey Sr. signs three more stars of the Negro baseball league: Monty (Monte) Irvin and Larry Doby of the Newark Eagles and Bus Clarkson, formerly of the Philadelphia Stars who most recently played … Continue reading →

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Feb. 1, 1907: A Look at Lynchings

Posted on February 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007. Feb. 1, 1907 Los Angeles I was all set to write about Leroyxez, “The Human Pincushion,” being nailed to a cross promptly at 4 p.m. at Chutes Park, and then a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: Four African Americans File for City Council 7th District Race

Posted on January 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 30, 1947: An ad in the Sentinel announces a preview of a model home in Carver Manor, a housing development designed by Paul R. Williams at 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard. Stanford Avenue in Carver Manor, via Google Street … Continue reading →

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Jan. 17, 1907: The Changing Face of the City

Posted on January 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 17, 1907 Los Angeles On a trip from Utah to visit his daughter, H.E. Gibson keeps getting lost as he wanders around Los Angeles. No, it’s not because Gibson is 80, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 16, 1947: Teachers Call ‘Song of the South’ Racist Propaganda

Posted on January 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 16, 1947: Chef Tubbs is opening a restaurant at 1305-7 E. Olympic Blvd. Olympic Boulevard and Central Avenue, via Google Street View. Jan. 16: Local 27 of the American Federation of Teachers, meeting in Washington, called the Disney feature … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. Laura Bowman Cast in All-Black Production of ‘Anna Lucasta’

Posted on January 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1947:  Laura Bowman, who died in 1957 after a long illness, is to appear in an all-black production of “Anna Lucasta” at the Biltmore Theater. ” Anna Lucasta,” written by Philip Yordan, was originally produced by the American … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: LAPD Detectives Cleared of Brutality Against Drunk Woman

Posted on January 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1947: The Sentinel reports on the ruling by the Los Angeles Police Commission in the case of Edythe L. Galloway, 434 E. 48th St. On Nov. 6, 1946, the Police Commission voted to investigate the allegations of brutality … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Sentinel Refuses Ads From Central Avenue Club Over White Cashier

Posted on January 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

4201 S. Central, the location of the Downbeat Room, via Google Street View. Notice the Dunbar Hotel next door. The famous Club Alabam’ was nearby at 4215 S. Central.   Jan. 9, 1947: Mabel Scott and Gerald Wilson open the … Continue reading →

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Jan. 5, 1947: Two Black 15-Year-Olds Set for Electric Chair After Losing Plea

Posted on January 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Jan. 5, 1947: “The majority of Americans belong to one minority group or another,” said Dr. Will Durant, author and lecturer, yesterday in outlining the scope of the … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Mary Lou Williams ‘Waltz Boogie’

Posted on January 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

“Leon Wheaton of 1011 E. 43rd Place, Los Angeles, one of the latest local victims of police brutality,” in a photo published Jan. 2, 1947, in the Los Angeles Sentinel.  Unfortunately, there is no further information in the Sentinel about … Continue reading →

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Jan. 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947Project. Jan. 4, 1947: Suppose, for a moment, that you are a 19-year-old mess cook second class stationed in San Pedro. Suppose further that while you are on leave … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: 10 Black Doctors Admitted to Leading Surgical Society, Raising Number to 14

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Leon H. Washington Jr., left, publisher of the Sentinel, marches in a picket line with a sign that says “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” in a photo published Jan. 2, 1947. Jan. 2, 1947: At its convention in Cleveland, … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: First African American Named to L.A. Police Commission

Posted on January 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1947: The Los Angeles Sentinel publishes the photo of Charles H. Matthews on Page 1 as part of its roundup of major stories from 1946. Matthews, a former deputy district attorney and an NAACP executive at the time, … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Racist Street Sign Removed; Advertisers, Officials Repudiate ‘The Equalizer’

Posted on January 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1947: The Los Angeles Sentinel publishes a photo of a street sign reading “Dixiana Circle” at 23rd Street and Long Beach Avenue. The Sentinel reported June 6, 1946, that the street had been renamed Staunton.  Not too surprisingly, … Continue reading →

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