Michael B. (Ichabod) reviewed The Golden Fortress: California's Border War on Dust Bowl Refugees on + 112 more book reviews
Keeping the White Spot White
As a native Californian, born and brought up in Los Angeles, I never had much exposure to local history. We were taught there were the Franciscan missions, Olvera Street, and movie studios. Then sometime later the GI Bill helped our families move into brand new homes in the San Fernando Valley. Anytime prior to that was an era of black and white film and our grandparents moving here from back east. Corruption in our background was only dramatized by Hollywood. "Chinatown" circulated the story of ruthless men bathing in profits made with manipulation of the water supply. Later we saw "L.A. Confidential" with its unethical cops enforcing the law in their selective way. Still, these were the movies...
In "The Golden Fortress: California's Border War on Dust Bowl Refugees" we see a shockingly authoritarian approach to keeping the peace. Los Angeles had always been promoted as a paradise, a land of sunshine where dreams come true. With the brutal effects of the Great Depression and the scorched earth of the Dust Bowl, an enormous number of Americans looked to California as a last chance.
Los Angeles Police Chief James Davis believed that the flood of poor and unemployed people coming into California, specifically Los Angeles, would threaten the lifestyle and economic welfare of its citizens. Conveniently forgetting that both he and the mayor were born elsewhere, it was Davis' strategy to paint a picture of migrants as criminals, commies, and leeches to the economy. To prevent the homeless from being a problem, just keep them away.
The way to prevent catastrophe was to stop these people at the border. LAPD officers were sent out to 16 state border checkpoints to turn away undesirables. Profiling was the standard. If the traveler looked poor they were rejected. Davis counted on public fear outweighing any concerns over constitutional guarantees. He initially had solid support for his "Bum Blockade." The Greater Los Angeles Association coined the slogan "Keep the White Spot White" back in the 1920's in the effort to protect their economic interests. The Los Angeles Times likened the threat to the fall of Rome-- fear of the foreigner is huge, even if that foreigner is a fellow American.
Author Bill Lascher explores one of the more remote border points, Alturas, a small town in the northeastern corner of the state near the borders of Nevada and Oregon. The sheriff resented Los Angeles' arrogance in flexing its presence over the rest of the state, while the two newspapers fought over the blockade's merits. Tying the subsequent events directly to this operation feels like a bit of a stretch, though.
Overall this is an enlightening book, revealing a dark response to problems of poverty and homelessness. Those in authority often preyed on people's fear to consolidate their power. Our hearts and sympathies go out to the poor-- it is just a lot easier if we do not have to live right beside them. It feels less threatening to have them on the other side of a wall. Possibly this line of thinking is a thing of the past. It can not be up to us to "choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us." I am not sure we are heading in the right direction, I would like to think so.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
As a native Californian, born and brought up in Los Angeles, I never had much exposure to local history. We were taught there were the Franciscan missions, Olvera Street, and movie studios. Then sometime later the GI Bill helped our families move into brand new homes in the San Fernando Valley. Anytime prior to that was an era of black and white film and our grandparents moving here from back east. Corruption in our background was only dramatized by Hollywood. "Chinatown" circulated the story of ruthless men bathing in profits made with manipulation of the water supply. Later we saw "L.A. Confidential" with its unethical cops enforcing the law in their selective way. Still, these were the movies...
In "The Golden Fortress: California's Border War on Dust Bowl Refugees" we see a shockingly authoritarian approach to keeping the peace. Los Angeles had always been promoted as a paradise, a land of sunshine where dreams come true. With the brutal effects of the Great Depression and the scorched earth of the Dust Bowl, an enormous number of Americans looked to California as a last chance.
Los Angeles Police Chief James Davis believed that the flood of poor and unemployed people coming into California, specifically Los Angeles, would threaten the lifestyle and economic welfare of its citizens. Conveniently forgetting that both he and the mayor were born elsewhere, it was Davis' strategy to paint a picture of migrants as criminals, commies, and leeches to the economy. To prevent the homeless from being a problem, just keep them away.
The way to prevent catastrophe was to stop these people at the border. LAPD officers were sent out to 16 state border checkpoints to turn away undesirables. Profiling was the standard. If the traveler looked poor they were rejected. Davis counted on public fear outweighing any concerns over constitutional guarantees. He initially had solid support for his "Bum Blockade." The Greater Los Angeles Association coined the slogan "Keep the White Spot White" back in the 1920's in the effort to protect their economic interests. The Los Angeles Times likened the threat to the fall of Rome-- fear of the foreigner is huge, even if that foreigner is a fellow American.
Author Bill Lascher explores one of the more remote border points, Alturas, a small town in the northeastern corner of the state near the borders of Nevada and Oregon. The sheriff resented Los Angeles' arrogance in flexing its presence over the rest of the state, while the two newspapers fought over the blockade's merits. Tying the subsequent events directly to this operation feels like a bit of a stretch, though.
Overall this is an enlightening book, revealing a dark response to problems of poverty and homelessness. Those in authority often preyed on people's fear to consolidate their power. Our hearts and sympathies go out to the poor-- it is just a lot easier if we do not have to live right beside them. It feels less threatening to have them on the other side of a wall. Possibly this line of thinking is a thing of the past. It can not be up to us to "choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us." I am not sure we are heading in the right direction, I would like to think so.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
