Before 1938 – Buying on Contract – Covenants – Covenant Database – East Bakersfield

Education – Eminent Domain – Moving into a Neighborhood – Neighborhoods

Public Housing – Resources – Rumford Fair Housing Act – Suburban Expansion – Zoning

Black migrants encountered White, Mexican, Asian, indigenous, and European immigrant settlers and farmers when coming west. The West had limited diversity when it came to black settlers. The West had been largely defined by the area’s powerful white growers. Black migrants left the Jim Crow South only to find similar instances of racism and discrimination that had already limited other racial minorities in the American West.

Migrants who came to Buttonwillow found the “Jim Crow North,” as Robert Williams, a local resident said. Williams thought he had left discrimination in the south, only to find a “No Colored Trade” sign posted on a Buttonwillow café. Black migrants resisted and fought for change. Williams told historian Peter La Chappelle, who interviewed him in 1997, that he confronted the owner (a friend of Williams) and told him that he would not come in out of protest, even if the owner did not mean the sign to include Williams. This was not unique to the 1930s, as the Ku Klux Klan had already been active in the early 1920s in Taft, a known “sundown town.” In 1922, the New York Times reported on the case against the Kern KKK: “In its first report since it began inquiring into the recent activities of the masked night riders in the Central Valley oil fields, the Kern County Grand Jury delivered a presentment against the Ku Klux Klan today.” Other forms of disenfranchisement and discrimination included anti-miscegenation laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and housing discrimination.

Peter La Chappelle, “‘Shadows of the Dust’ The Expectation and Ordeal of California’s African-American Dust Bowl Migrants Southern San Joaquin Valley, 1929-1941,” (MA Thesis, CSU Bakersfield 1997) https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/r494vr48j

The image consists of two parts.On the left is the back of a photograph with handwritten text that reads: “Sign on roadside fountain – Bakersfield Calif 10 July 46” On the right is the front of the photograph showing a closed door with a small rectangular sign posted at eye level. The sign reads: “NO COLORED TRADE SOLICITED” The photograph shows a plain door with a window in the upper portion and a metal handle and lock. The sign is centered on the lower panel of the door. The image documents racial exclusion signage in Bakersfield, California, in July 1946. — **“Sign of Roadside Fountain- Bakersfield Calif. 10 July 1946**

ORDINANCE NO. 860 — NEW SERIESAN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE POSTING OF SIGNS OR OTHERWISE ADVERTISING THAT PUBLIC PATRONAGE OF PERSONS TO PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION, AMUSEMENT OR ENTERTAINMENT IS NOT SOLICITED OR DESIRED BECAUSE OF RACE, CREED OR COLOR, IN THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA. WHEREAS, Sections 51 to 54 inclusive, of the Civil Code of the State of California, provide in effect that all citizens within the jurisdiction of the State are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of places of public accommodation, amusement and entertainment therein named; and WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of this Council that certain of said places of public accommodation, amusement and entertainment in the City of Bakersfield, have been and are advertising by signs posted on the premises or otherwise, that the patronage, admission or accommodation of certain persons is not solicited, welcome or desired because of the race, creed or color of said persons; and WHEREAS, said advertising has been and is a cause of public discord, dissension and threats of mob violence, and, unless the same ceases is likely to lead to the destruction of real and/or personal property by mobs and/or riots for which the City of Bakersfield would be liable by virtue of the provisions of Section 4452 of the Political Code of the State of California; and WHEREAS, the prohibition of such discriminatory advertising is in furtherance of the public policy of the State as expressed in the aforementioned sections of the Civil Code and is necessary for the protection of the public peace, property and safety. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Bakersfield, as follows: — **Ordinance 860 was supported by the African American community, having been passed with the lobbying efforts of the local NAACP chapter on February 14, 1950, Bakersfield City Council**

Housing discrimination included responses to deny housing. Johnie Mae Parker, an activist and historian, recounted, in her book How Long? Not Long!, that “In approaching a number of houses which had ‘For Sale or Rent’ signs posted, the response was, ‘Sorry, we don’t sell or rent to Colored.’ Two of such houses happened to be located on Kincaid Street in the Mayflower community. One of the houses was for sale by owner, the other one was for sale by realtor.”

Housing Advertisement: The headline reads in large capital letters:COLORED Below, the text reads: “Lovely large 3 bedroom home on a very desirable corner lot near the new Emerson School. This house has 1113 sq. ft. of living area. Oak floors, 2 car garage and it is fully insulated and weatherstripped. The price is $11,300—Kall Karpe today.” Below the description appears: ELMER F. KARPE REALTOR 920 Chester Ave. Phone FA 5-5736 Evenings call Marge Manzer at FA 4-6319 At the bottom margin, the classification reads: 41—Homes for Sale East Bakersfield The page number “14” appears in the lower right corner. The advertisement uses racially segregated labeling (“COLORED”) to designate the intended buyers, reflecting discriminatory housing practices of the period. — This newspaper ad is an example of racial segregation in Bakersfield housing during the 1950s. It is important to note that the advertisement still used “Colored” in 1956, eight years after Shelley v. Kaemer outlawed the use of racially restrictive covenants. Ordinance 860 did not spot the posting of racially exclusive housing. The Press Volume III, No.14, 16 February 1956, 1956-02-16bp. Kern County Newspaper Collection, 2020-002. p11. California State University, Bakersfield, Walter W. Stiern Library-Historical Research Center. https://archives.csub.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/5157

With FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and HOLC (Homeowners Loan Corporation) loans out of reach, “buying on contract” was the process of “renting to own.” Minority home buyers were baited with the dream of homeownership, with the loans offered by real estate agents. The reality instead resulted in attempting to purchase homes under the agreement and conditions of a real estate broker. The broker owned and loaned the property to prospective buyers who did not have access to bank loans. The process of buying from the broker and owner created loans access with no protections or liability. Since FHA and HOLC loans did not operate in neighborhoods with poverty and areas where inadequate municipal services, “buying on contract” became the purchase method for many minorities well after the postwar period.

Sample Deed- Mayflower