California has a reputation as the “Golden State” of opportunity, progress, and resistance. But the truth is that the state’s founding went hand in hand with policies that sanctioned slavery and genocide. @ACLU_NorCal uncovers some of that history here ⬇️
In the mid-19th century, a stretch of Main Street in downtown Los Angeles was a slave market. Today it’s the site of a federal courthouse.
We can’t forget that our nation’s very foundation was built on the exploitation of human lives. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
We can’t forget that our nation’s very foundation was built on the exploitation of human lives. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
Lawmaker Peter Burnett was instrumental in banning Black people from the state of Oregon and attempting to do the same in California. Later, as California's first governor, he sanctioned the genocide of Native Americans. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
In 1850, Pomo Indians rebelled against white settlers who had brutally enslaved their people. In response, US cavalry massacred as many as 200 indigenous people in Clear Lake, CA. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
In 1852, California lawmakers decreed that any Black person who had entered California as a slave before statehood was the legal property of the slaveholder who brought them.
In other words, slavery existed in what was ostensibly a "free" state. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
In other words, slavery existed in what was ostensibly a "free" state. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
During America’s “frontier” era, Native children often suffered horrific abuse as a result of a law that professed to send them to white families for "self-improvement.” In truth, it was a form of legalized child slavery. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
In 1855, the 1st Colored Convention in California was held. Black leaders called for the abolishment of slavery, voting rights for Black men, and the repeal of laws that made it illegal for Black and Native people to testify in court against whites. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
In 1857, Archy Lee, a young Black man who had been brought to California from Mississippi, escaped, but was then re-enslaved. He waged a successful legal battle for his freedom that went all the way to the federal courts. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
Edith, a 12-year-old Black girl, was brought to California by a Missouri slaveholder. In 1864, after witnessing her abuse in Sacramento County, a free Black man named Daniel Blue went to court and sued for her freedom. aclunc.org/sites/goldchai…
Race-based violence and widespread racial discrimination are still found in California and throughout our country. This is no accident. To fight structural racism and social injustice, we have to understand the history that we came from.
