Equality for All Residents: African Americans and Racial
Reform in California, 1945-1970
An Exhibit Compiled by Martin Schiesl, Professor Emeritus of
History
Library Palmer Wing, 2nd Floor
On display from February 1 to March 31, 2014
African American men and women played a leading role in the
hard struggle for racial equality in California during the years from 1945 to
1970. They came from different social backgrounds, held private and public
positions, and belonged to the NAACP and other reform organizations. Their main
concerns were exclusion from various public accommodations, discriminatory
employment, housing discrimination, and segregation of schools. They formed
strong alliances with civil rights activist in the Anglo and Latino communities
and won much admiration and support from liberal members of local and state
government. By the end of the 1960s, African American leaders had secured
several laws against discrimination, opened new economic and social
opportunities for people of color, and greatly helped move California far down
the road of equality.
