The Roots of Mexican’s Racial Segregation: A Case Study of Mexicans in the L.A. Harbor

• In Event: 40252 - Mechanisms of Segregation

Abstract

I call attention to four mechanisms that produced and reproduced segregation in Los Angeles at the turn of the 20th century, giving origin to the segregation and racial exclusion of Mexicans and other non-whites in the region. I situate mechanisms of racial segregation in the context of 1.) white settlers moving west drawing on Manifest Destiny as a racial ideology and 2.) racial capitalism that guided the development of the city, not just through racial labor exploitation, but through racial segregation in the form of segregated labor camps and company towns throughout the region. I also call attention to 3.) how the state sponsored racial exclusion took place in California, examining how the California Commission of Immigration and Housing, a state agency created during the Progressive Era advanced Americanization efforts, while enshrining racial exploitation and the residential segregation of Mexicans and other racial groups. Lastly, I call attention to 4.) institutional segregation that took place during the Progressive Era, specifically in churches and schools, that accompanied the rise of racially restrictive covenants in the region. I draw on newspaper, state and local archives to reveal the layered mechanisms of racial segregation that unfolded at the turn of the 20th century in southern California. These data highlight the intersection between racial and immigrant exclusion mechanisms that has long structured the experience of Mexican-origin group in the U.S. and shaped their racial segregation, as well as episodes of expulsion. I highlight the experience of Mexican communities in the Port of Los Angeles.

Author

• Maria G. Rendon, University of California, Irvine