Freedom, Liberation, and Justice Now On the beach, on the street and in the boutique window, social justice undertakings around the nation are actively using history to engage the public in critical dialogue about social and political issues continuing to face society. These actions of empowerment are shaping broader conversations and stirring the public to […]
New energy has arisen to reclaim the important marginalized California ocean coastline history of African American places of enjoyment, freedom struggle and community and economic development sabotaged during the Jim Crow era (1900s–1960s). Bruce’s Beach (Manhattan Beach) and the Bay Street Beach (Santa Monica) have been sites of conscience and reflection for memorial and celebratory events […]
The Los Angeles City Historical Society (LACHS) has selected me, Alison Rose Jefferson, as one of the individuals and organizations to be recognized in 2020 for exceptional contributions to the greater understanding and awareness of Los Angeles history. Susan Orlean, the Los Angeles Police Museum and I will be presented with awards at the LACHS […]
I am pleased to share my book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era was recently highlighted in the Los Angeles Times. In his article, “Book It, L.A. — for the brainy and the bold,” writer Drew Tewksbury called out my book launch event at Chevalier’s Book Store in the Larchmont district as […]
Since July 2019 I have been the project historian on the City of Santa Monica public history and art project to recognize the early African American settlement that was located in the Belmar neighborhood near Fourth Street and Pico Boulevard which was wiped out with the civic center campus expansion in the 1950s. The Belmar History […]
The Bay Street Beach Historic District was approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in June by the National Park Service. This site, has sometimes been called “the Inkwell”. I partnered with Michael Blum of the Sea of Clouds organization to make this NRHP listing become a reality. Soon there will be new informational […]
As a subscriber since 2006, it was very disconcerting to learn in the article, “Beyond Romantic Advertisements: Ancestry.com, Genealogy, and White Supremacy” by Adam H. Domby for Black Perspectives on the African American Intellectual History website, that Ancestry.com has recently changed its search algorithms so that the results from the 1850 to 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedules intentionally […]
Bay Street Beach Historic District Update The California State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC) voted unanimously to recommend to the California State Historic Preservation Officer listing the Bay Street Beach Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places on May 8 at their quarterly meeting in Palm Springs. The NR nomination recognizes this Santa Monica area […]
Environmental justice is defined as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” — Government Code Section 65040.12 of California. The California Coastal Commission adopted a new Environmental Justice Policy for equity and inclusion in […]
SHINING A LIGHT ON HISTORY || CONNECTING PAST STRUGGLES TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE Good tidings to all. I wish you good health, and infinite possibilities for happiness and success for a special 2019! I hope you all had a productive 2018. I did and I look forward to more of the […]
Please join me, Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson, at the Coastal Conservancy at noon on September 20 for my presentation: “Making Visible Overlooked Stories of African Americans in California Dreams.” You can join in person at 1515 Clay St, 10th Floor, Big Sur Conference Room, in Oakland near the 12th Street BART station or by webinar. Register for […]
I was honored to be a speaker at the Leimert Park Village Book Fair on Saturday, August 25, this year held at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza at Martin Luther King, Jr. and Crenshaw Boulevards in Los Angeles. I did an illustrated presentation, on the waves of people of African ancestry migrating to Los Angeles from the […]