Surf, Sand, and Self-Determination: Jim Crow-Era Leisure for Black Angelenos

We said “so long” to summer with a trip to the Santa Monica beach with historian Alison Rose Jefferson, whose work at USC launched a deep dive into African American recreation areas in the Golden State. Her master’s thesis on Lake Elsinore led to her widely acclaimed book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites in the Jim Crow Era.

Alison shares some of the struggles, successes, and legacies of Black leisure spaces in early twentieth-century SoCal. We also hear from an oral history with the late Verna (Deckard Lewis) Williams, who experienced fun in the sun—and racism from white beachgoers—firsthand.

Transcript

Alison Rose Jefferson at the monument commemorating Bay Street Beach, known derisively as "the Inkwell," 2022. Photo by Cindy Olnick.
Crescent Bay Park at Bay Street Beach, 2022. Photo by Cindy Olnick.
Verna Deckard (later Williams) and Arthur Lewis at Santa Monica’s Bay Street Beach in 1924, days before their wedding. Shades of L.A. Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Verna Deckard Lewis (later Williams) in a beauty contest at the Black-owned Parkridge Country Club in Corona, 1928. Shades of L.A. Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Beauty contest at the Black-owned Parkridge Country Club in Corona, 1928. Verna Deckard Lewis (later Williams) is fourth from right. Shades of L.A. Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Early view from the pergola in Crescent Bay Park at Santa Monica's Bay Street Beach. Photo courtesy University of Southern California Libraries and California Historical Society.
Historic pergola at Crescent Bay Park, near Bay Street Beach in Santa Monica, 2022. Photo by Cindy Olnick.
Verna Deckard Lewis (later Williams) with her friend Sidney (after her husband Arthur’s passing), with pergola in the background, 1931. Shades of L.A. Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Friends Verna, Sidney, Gladys and Theopolis at Bay Street Beach in Santa Monica, 1931. Shades of L.A. Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Verna Deckard Lewis (later Williams) with her friend Irma's child at Bay Street Beach in Santa Monica, 1931. Shades of L.A. Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.
Phillips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church at 2001 4th Street in Santa Monica. Photo by Cindy Olnick.
Plaque near the entrance of Phillips Chapel C.M.E. Church. Photo by Cindy Olnick.

Photo of Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson in a yellow suit on the beach. — Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson, photo by Leroy Hamilton

Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson is an independent historian and heritage conservation consultant. She has worked extensively across Los Angeles to elucidate and re-center the African American experience in heritage conservation efforts and the American identity.

In 2018, she co-authored the African American Historic Context Statement for SurveyLA, the City of Los Angeles’ Historic Resources Survey. She recently completed two Applied History projects: Santa Monica’s Belmar History + Art and the Angels Walk LA Central Avenue Heritage Trail. She is the author of Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era (2020).

Learn more about Dr. Jefferson’s work at alisonrosejefferson.com.

Podcast co-host Cindy Olnick recently interviewed Alison about her thesis and career since. Cindy is a communications pro who loves L.A. and thinks historic places are magical.