Hoy es Día de la Raza.
In 1969, several Mexican American students at the High School in Brawley, California returned from a Chicano Student Conference at San Diego State University excited by the speakers they had heard there. They wore pins that read, “Mexican-American Liberation” to show their support for the Chicano movement. The school administrators demanded that they remove the pins, arguing that they were disturbing the other students and advocating disruption. The students filed a lawsuit in Federal court arguing that the school administrators violated their civil rights under the 1st and 14th amendments of the United States Constitution. This letter and pin are from that case, now held at the National Archives in Riverside.
To pay tribute to the many generations of Hispanic Americans that have enriched our nation’s history, the National Archives at Riverside will be highlighting some of our holdings relating to Hispanic American history in our region (Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, NV), including records relating to Private Land Claims, Immigration and Naturalization, military service and many more.
For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month, see http://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/
Immigration and Diversity in Southern California
The history of the Southwest is rich in racial and ethnic diversity. In our records, we find records of immigration and naturalization for people from all over the world. Featured among this selection of digitized records is the Petition for Naturalization of former Governor Schwarzengger, filed in the Los Angeles District Court in August of 1983.
Throughout the month of July, the National Archives at Riverside is taking the opportunity to share images, documents, and records that celebrate our local history. As the archives that holds permanent federal records for Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, we have records from the states’ Territorial eras, records relating to the development of the region as a center of commerce and culture, and records depicting the natural beauty and built environments of our unique home. This July, join us in celebrating our heritage as Americans and our heritage as stewards of the Pacific Southwest!
Do you have what it takes to be a member of the auxiliary Police During WWII? These gentlemen from Riverside, California sure did! They were members of the community, ages 21-50, trained to support local police departments all over southern California during WWII. Their tasks? According to the Los Angeles City Defense Council they were to…
1. Control traffic.
2. Guard defense points, docks, bridges, factories, to prevent sabotage.
3. Prevent looting of partially demolished shops and homes.
4. Control panics.
5. Help enforce emergency restrictions on lighting, and prohibitions on trespassing.
6. Assist in air raid protection service before, during and after a raid.
Throughout the month of July, the National Archives at Riverside is taking the opportunity to share images, documents, and records that celebrate our local history. As the archives that holds permanent federal records for Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, we have records from the states’ Territorial eras, records relating to the development of the region as a center of commerce and culture, and records depicting the natural beauty and built environments of our unique home. This July, join us in celebrating our heritage as Americans and our heritage as stewards of the Pacific Southwest!
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Waterways in the Pacific Southwest
Throughout the entire 20th century, the USACE developed a complex infrastructure of dams, man-made rivers, levees, and reservoirs throughout our region. Without these massive construction projects, many of the residential and commercial developments in the area would not have been possible. The Army Corps changed the landscape of Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County in order to make the region a safe place to live—and the images of the construction of these fixtures illustrates the ways in which the area has developed in the past century.
Throughout the month of July, the National Archives at Riverside is taking the opportunity to share images, documents, and records that celebrate our local history. As the archives that holds permanent federal records for Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, we have records from the states’ Territorial eras, records relating to the development of the region as a center of commerce and culture, and records depicting the natural beauty and built environments of our unique home. This July, join us in celebrating our heritage as Americans and our heritage as stewards of the Pacific Southwest!
Source: arcweb.archives.gov
Wheeler Expedition of 1878
These images are stereoscopic photographs prepared by the Army Corps of Engineers from the Wheeler Expedition original photographs. The Wheeler Expedition’s goal was to survey the U.S. below the 100th meridian line, then create topographic maps of the region. The images above depict some of the landscapes and people encountered by Wheeler and his team in 1878.
Throughout the month of July, the National Archives at Riverside is taking the opportunity to share images, documents, and records that celebrate our local history. As the archives that holds permanent federal records for Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, we have records from the states’ Territorial eras, records relating to the development of the region as a center of commerce and culture, and records depicting the natural beauty and built environments of our unique home. This July, join us in celebrating our heritage as Americans and our heritage as stewards of the Pacific Southwest!
Source: arcweb.archives.gov
Fruit is serious business ‘round here!
The early years of the twentieth century saw the growth and consolidation of the citrus industry in southern California. We have a particular affinity for a series of patent infringement court cases which document the technology that revolutionized the industry.
Nothing says southern California citrus history like a crate stapling machine, right? Huh? Well, crate labels wouldn’t have had their advertising impact if the fruit hadn’t made it to its destination safely wrapped inside of the crate, right?
These images detail a machine claimed to have been invented by both George D. Parker and Hale Paxton.
Yes, it is true… even our poet laureate wears sweet hats!
A totally Californian poet laureate: Juan Felipe Herrera, 63, is the son of migrant farmworkers and plugged in to modern culture. He’d like to make the entire state a democratic, virtual poetry workshop.
Photo: Professor Juan Felipe Herrera, recently appointed California’s poet laureate by Gov. Jerry Brown, leads a poetry workshop at UC Riverside. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
Idle Farm Equipment of Japanese Internees
While Japanese-Americans were held in internment during World War II, much of their property stayed behind. To aid in food production, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) War Board decided to make much of the idle farming equipment in California available for public sale. The internee would be reimbursed at what the USDA War Board deemed to be fair market value. In this letter, Henry H. Nishizu declines the Board’s request to sell his equipment, stating that he had already committed the use of the farming machines to friends. He then writes,
“As an American, I do not feel right by remaining here in the center at the cost of the tax-payers money. When our government is helping us to relocate and thus actively become engaged in helping the shortage of man-power, I feel Relocation Center is now place for loyal Americans to stay and do nothing.”
The letter is part of a series of case files related to the Idle Farming Equipment of Japanese Internees, created by the Orange County, CA USDA War Board from 1941-1948. The records are held at the National Archives at Riverside.
Observing Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
To pay tribute to the many generations of Asian-Pacific Americans that have enriched our nation’s history, the National Archives at Riverside will be highlighting some of our holdings relating to Asian American history in our region (Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, NV), including records relating to enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, records relating to Japanese internment and relocation, and many more.
For more information about Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, see http://asianpacificheritage.gov/
Map Monday!
This is a topographic map of Southern California, held in the permanent collections here at the National Archives at Riverside.
