[Editor’s Note: At this evening’s 7 o’clock meeting of the Culver City Democratic Club in the Rotunda Room of the Vets Auditorium, delegates to the state Democratic Convention will deliver reports.]
When I learned that 80 years ago at the Berlin Olympics of 1936, Jesse Owens won four Olympic gold medals in the face of Hitler’s rhetoric, I came to appreciate his courage in the face of adversity and oppression. He won four gold medals, in the 100 meters, 200 meters, the 4×100 meter relay and the long jump. That piqued my interest in Black History Month and compelled me to read further.
Of the 44 people who set out from Spanish Colonial Mexico to establish a pueblo between the missions in San Gabriel and Santa Barbara in February 1781, 26 were of African descent. They had descended from the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Africans
brought to New Spain by the Spanish as slaves and laborers in the 1500s and 1600s.
By 1700, they were free subjects of New Spain. Integrating with the local Indian tribes and mestizo population, they helped to colonize Alta (Northern) California. The 11 families who arrived here on Sept. 4, 1781 are commemorated on a plaque near the gazebo in El Pueblo de Los Angeles.
In the next century, Bridget (Biddy) Mason walked to California from Mississippi behind her master’s wagon. Although born a slave, she went to court and won her freedom in 1856. After saving her wages from jobs as a midwife and nurse to buy property near 4th and Spring streets in downtown Los Angeles, she established “Biddy Mason’s Place,” which would serve as a daycare center and orphanage. In 1872, Ms. Mason, with 11 others, founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.
In 1940, Tom Bradley was sworn in as one of the 100 black officers on the 4,000- member LAPD force. After leaving the department, Mr. Bradley went to law school and became active in politics. He joined the Crenshaw Democratic Club and later became the club’s president.
By 1963, Mr. Bradley had become the first African American elected to the Los Angeles City Council, representing the Crenshaw District. In 1969, he ran for mayor. He lost to conservative Sam Yorty.
Four years later, Mr. Bradley ran for mayor and won, serving in that capacity for 20 years, until 1993, as the first African American mayor of Los Angeles.
Although Ryan Coogler is best known for his directorial work in the films “Fruitvale Station” and “Creed,” he also is known for co-founding Blackout for Human Rights. This is comprised of a network of filmmakers, entertainers and everyman pooling their resources to address human rights violations in the U.S. In 2014, the group spearheaded Blackout Black Friday, a national call to boycott Black Friday shopping following the racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo. Notable members of Blackout include Ava DuVernay, Jesse Williams, Nate Parker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Oyelowo.
Dr. Gyi, president of the Culver City Democratic Club, may be contacted at President@CulverCityDemocraticClub.com
