Tag Archives: African Americans

Former slave speaks

Posted on April 1, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, Aunt Lucy Chiviss. If you look closely, you’ll notice this page says "Wednesday" and "Sunday" and the caption type is pied. Someone was certainly having a bad day. Below, the story of Lucy Chiviss. Yes, I know slave narratives … Continue reading →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Front Pages | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

March 23, 1908

Posted on March 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, an exhausted mother kills herself … Below,  Bishop Conaty dedicates St. Patrick’s Church at Central Avenue and 34th Street. According to the church’s website, the Long Beach earthquake heavily damaged the building, which was eventually destroyed in the Sylmar … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Religion, Suicide | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on March 23, 1908

March 21, 1908

Posted on March 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, baseball and ostriches. Below, the Rev. G.W. Woodbey, an African American minister described in The Times as a rabid radical, is convicted of speaking on a street corner without a license.

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, Religion | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on March 21, 1908

March 19, 1908

Posted on March 19, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, development spreads across Southern California. And of course, once people move to Chino they will need some sort of transportation … Below, a clever fraud by a clever, affable insurance man who fakes a death … At an African … Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages | Tagged , , | Comments Off on March 19, 1908

March 7, 1908

Posted on March 7, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, an African American church is planted at 37th Street and Denker, The Times says.  According to the church’s website, Westminster Presbyterian was built at 35th Place and Denker. Below, The Times reports on Los Angeles County’s plans for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, Transportation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on March 7, 1908

Feb. 23, 1908

Posted on February 22, 2008 by lmharnisch
Posted in Countdown to Watts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Paul Coates

Posted on January 29, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 29, 1958 The Kingfish and I got a pretty fair raking over the coals a few days ago. And, somehow, I’m not quite sure that we deserved it. The man who did the raking is a colleague of mine–a … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Paul Coates, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Paul Coates

Black elite

Posted on January 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

April 16, 1972 Los Angeles I have been meaning to post this story for months and finally decided today was the day. It’s a long story (jumping four times!) but an interesting read. Enjoy!   Email me

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Jan. 20, 1908

Posted on January 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

  More than 200 African Americans gather at First Methodist Church to protest the vandalism of a house on East 33rd Street that was rented to a black family (above, the original Jan. 16, 1908, story) …  A man on … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Countdown to Watts, Religion, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 20, 1908

Countdown to Watts

Posted on August 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Aug. 5, 1957 Los Angeles In eight years (the headline above is from The Times, Aug. 12, 1965), Los Angeles will explode in the Watts riots and many people will wonder how it happened. Here’s part of the answer. … Continue reading →

Posted in Countdown to Watts | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Countdown to Watts

Countdown to Watts

Posted on July 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

July 25, 1957Los Angeles To The Times, a class-action suit accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of brutality simply wasn’t newsworthy. The Mirror did a bit better: a few paragraphs on Page 12. And these were juicy stories: A Baptist … Continue reading →

Posted in Countdown to Watts | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on 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 →

Posted in 1957, Countdown to Watts | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on A question of leadership

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 →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What happened on Dunsmuir

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 →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Science | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Aerospace crashes

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 →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Architectural Ramblings

Posted on May 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

  May 13, 1957 Los Angeles Nobody knows who Frederick M. Roberts is these days, at least not at Fred Roberts Park at 48th and Honduras streets in South Los Angeles. I’d never heard of him, so I drove down … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Architectural Ramblings

No blacks allowed

Posted on May 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

  May 9, 1957 Austin, Texas Texas State Rep. Joe Chapman is no opera lover, especially when the cast includes an African American in the lead. He wants soprano Barbara Louise Smith out of the university production of Henry Purcell’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on No blacks allowed