Category Archives: Countdown to Watts

A question of leadership

Posted on July 21, 2007 by lmharnisch

July 18-Aug. 1, 1957Los Angeles In the summer of 1957, eight years before the Watts riots, the Los Angeles Sentinel, a weekly newspaper serving the black community, published a three-part series by Stanley Robertson titled: “Does Los Angeles Have a … Continue reading →

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What happened on Dunsmuir

Posted on July 20, 2007 by lmharnisch

These appear to be four rather ordinary West Adams district homes from the late 1920s and early ’30s and in many ways they are. Photographs by Larry Harnisch Los Angeles Times This is 2435 S. Dunsmuir Ave. This is 2308 … Continue reading →

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Countdown to Watts

Posted on July 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 17, 1957 Los Angeles The painful comparison: "800 Negroes Lose Jobs"  and "Deep South Editors Here, See Race Tension Ending." And to make things even worse, the Southern editors were entirely well-meaning and sincere. The Mirror interviewed editors … Continue reading →

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Aerospace crashes

Posted on July 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 17, 1957 Los Angeles With the cancellation of the Navaho cruise missile program, North American Aviation made plans to lay off 15,600 employees, nearly a third of the workforce at its plant in Downey. Efforts were made to … Continue reading →

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They said it

Posted on June 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 27, 1957Los Angeles "The Lord made distinctions between the races in the beginning of time. This idea of amalgamation of races and one world and all that is of the devil." J.H. Seal, chairman of the board of trustees, … Continue reading →

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Exodus

Posted on June 21, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 21, 1957 Los Angeles If there was ever a headline that said: "Do Not Read Me," it would be "Chain-Reaction Tithing Adopted by Methodists." The real news, buried down in the story, is that the Southern California-Arizona Conference … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock

Posted on June 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 17, 1957 Sometimes it is very difficult to know whom to believe. Take the case of a young sailor named Mike. Mike, 19, on leave from his base in San Diego, went to a wedding and reception a few … Continue reading →

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Countdown to Watts

Posted on May 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

May 27, 1957 Los Angeles In eight years, the city will explode in the Watts riots of August 1965 and white Los Angeles will ask itself what happened.  Look, for instance, at how the Mirror portrays integration at UCLA, which … Continue reading →

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Countdown to Watts

Posted on May 23, 2007 by lmharnisch

Note: The Watts riots are eight years away. As far as I can tell, The Times didn’t even cover this story. Email me Theresa Zeigler writes:After I read this story about the influx of Negroes and Hispanics in L.A. Country,  … Continue reading →

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