CITY OF PROMISE:
Race and Historical Change in Los Angeles

In 1900 Los Angeles boosters, despite Mexican cultural traditions that extended back to the eighteenth century, celebrated the city's Anglo values and institutions. The years from 1910 to 1945 saw the influx of many African Americans, migrants from Mexico, and Asian and Pacific immigrants into the city. Larger numbers of these groups entered Los Angeles in the postwar decades. By the end of the 20th century, the city had become the biggest multicultural center in the nation boasting an extraordinary racial diversity.

The authors of the essays in City of Promise, drawing upon a wide range of primary and secondary materials, provide a rich description and discussion of this monumental development. They show that nonwhite newcomers withstood much discrimination, formed a variety of cultural and social institutions, established permanent communities, and gained political power. The result is a very important addition to the understanding of the history of race and race relations in Los Angeles and the urban American West.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT "CITY OF PROMISE"

     “City of Promise is a collection of seven essays that examines the history and development of Los Angeles…from the perspective of the city’s racial minorities. The depth and the quality of research of the well-written essays in City of Promise is impressive. It will be of value to scholars in the broad field of Los Angeles studies because so many resources are gathered in one volume.”
                                                                                                             H-Net Reviews

 

     “The essays in Schiesl and Dodge’s volume provide an opportunity to compare three of Los Angeles’ most prominent ethno-racial populations—African American, Asia Pacific Islander, and Mexican-origin—in the historical eras before and after World War II…. This ambitious volume deserves praise for brining together the experiences of diverse minority groups and organizing them around World War II…. The questions City of Promise raises…highlight an important path for future scholarship.”

                                                     Southern California Quarterly

 

City of Promise “is likely to be of use to scholars seeking a general narrative of Los Angeles’ racial diversification. …[L]ocal historians will be well satisfied with the thoroughness. City of Promise focuses solidly upon legal, corporate and sociopolitical history within the minority communities” and will serve “those with an interest in urban, Californian or minority history.”

                                                              Journal of American Studies

 

“Replete with end notes and bibliography, City of Promise can serve as a primer on the history of racial groups in twentieth-century Los Angeles.”

                                                                        California History

 

     “…City of Promise is a good introduction to racial experience in Los Angeles.”

                                                                    Pacific Historical Review

Martin Schiesl and Mark M. Dodge, eds.,  228 Pages (PB)                                 $18.95