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Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State’S Capital, 1940-1988

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Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State’S Capital, 1940-1988 UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 8-1-2015 Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State’s Capital, 1940-1988 Kendra M. Gage University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, United States History Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Repository Citation Gage, Kendra M., "Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State’s Capital, 1940-1988" (2015). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2474. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/7777302 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CREATING THE BLACK CALIFORNIA DREAM: VIRNA CANSON AND THE BLACK FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN THE GOLDEN STATE’S CAPITOL, 1940-1988 by Kendra M. Gage Bachelor of Arts- History University of Oklahoma 1998 Masters of Arts- History University of Oklahoma 2001 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy- History Department of History College of Liberal Arts The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2015 Copyright by Kendra M. Gage, 2015 All Rights Reserved Dissertation Approval The Graduate College The University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 5, 2015 This dissertation prepared by Kendra M. Gage entitled Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State Capital, 1940-1988 is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy - History Department of History Andy Kirk, Ph.D. Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D. Examination Committee Chair Graduate College Interim Dean Marcia Gallo, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Todd E. Robinson, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Tanachai Mark Padoognpatt, Ph.D. Graduate College Faculty Representative ii ABSTRACT Creating the Black California Dream: Virna Canson and the Black Freedom Struggle in the Golden State’s Capitol, 1940-1988 By Kendra Michelle Gage Dr. Andy Kirk, Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas This dissertation examines the black struggle for racial equality in the Golden State’s capitol from 1940-1988 and an integral leader of the movement, Virna Canson. Canson fought for nearly fifty years to dismantle discriminatory practices in housing, education, employment and worked to protect consumers. Her lifetime of activism reveals a different set of key issues people focused on at the grassroots level and shows how the fight for freedom in California differed from the South because the state’s discriminatory practices were harder to pinpoint. Her work and the larger black community’s activism in Sacramento also reveals how the black freedom struggle was not just located in a few geographical hotbeds in California, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, but existed in smaller cities as well. By focusing on the life of Canson, another layer of the black freedom struggle emerges in California showing how even people in smaller, secondary cities such as Sacramento were instrumental in the black freedom struggle. Canson’s emergence as a leader in the black freedom struggle occurred because she was unwilling to part with her perception of the California Dream, where she could live, work and raise her children in an environment free from racism. When she discovered the existence of laws that mimicked the laws of the south she decided to dismantle these laws and create pathways for black community development. By including her activities within the iii larger black freedom struggle, another facet of the fight emerges- the fight to create an independent economic basis for the black community and consumer protections. Canson believed consumer and economic rights were just as important as access to housing, employment, education and voting. In addition, by focusing on Canson I was able to expand the time frame of the black freedom struggle in Sacramento. California passed civil rights legislation before any other state in the nation. The state embraced a civil rights agenda but this acceptance was short lived and residents became concerned that their rights and “freedom of choice” were being usurped by practices of reverse discrimination. This dissertation connects the early years of activism in the state’s capitol with the 1970s and 1980s and reveals the challenges blacks continued to face in a state where conservative backlash emerged. I argue, Canson’s lifetime of activism in the black freedom struggle was vital to California and led to the establishment of a stronger black community not only in Sacramento, but also throughout the state. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dissertations represent a long journey, along this journey I have accrued numerous debts to a host of people who helped me in countless ways. I would like to thank the various members of my committee who shaped my work and allowed me to become a better, more thoughtful scholar. I wish to begin by thanking two individual that started out on my committee but moved on to other institutions during my studies. First, Dr. David Wrobel was instrumental in my decision to attend UNLV and his courses and sage advice helped provide the foundation for this project. In addition, Dr. Kevin Dawson pushed me think about my project on a larger historical scale, I will never forget the summer of intensive readings and discussions we had. I am indebted to my other committee members who were with me from the very beginning, Dr. Todd Robinson and Dr. Marcia Gallo helped with the project in various stages throughout the project and displayed great patience. I appreciate both of their continued support throughout my studies and a mere thank you is not sufficient enough. Many thanks to Dr. Mark Padoongpatt who stepped in at the last minute and helped see the completion of the dissertation. I am especially grateful to my chair, Dr. Andy Kirk, who provided encouragement and guidance throughout the process. He always had the right words for me as I was moving along in this process and I can never thank him enough for helping me navigate this academic roller coaster. I would like to thank several generous UNLV faculty and staff who helped me in a variety of ways. First and foremost, I would like to thank Annette Amdal who made sure that I made it through the labyrinth paperwork and encouraged me to keep going v along the way. I am also grateful to Dr. David Tanenhaus for his words of encouragement and the opportunity to focus on my project. I came to UNLV at a time where there was an amazing cohort of people and I am forever grateful to these people, David Christiansen, Jordan Watkins, Leisl Carr Childers, and Margaret Huettl. I would like to thank one friend and classmate in particular, Nicholas Pellegrino, who was a tremendous support and an outlet when I needed one. There are other friends outside of UNLV that were instrumental in preserving my sanity along the way. Many thanks to my closest and dearest friend, Cheryl Wells, who listened to my many gripes but also made me laugh when I really needed a pick-me-up. In addition, I would like to thank Bill Gaba who became a part of my family during this process. I cannot thank the numerous archivists who assisted me throughout this process. I completed the majority of my research at the Bancroft Library and the archivists always made me feel welcomed and they made researching a pleasurable experience. In particular, I must thank David Kessler who ensured I had all of the records and permissions I needed. David also encouraged me at moments and offered suggestions that proved instrumental to shaping my dissertation. I owe my greatest thanks to my family. My parents, Fred and Paula, taught me to follow my dreams and realized that I would be a historian years before I did. My father made incredible sacrifices early in his life to make sure that my brother and I had what we needed and I can never thank him enough for that sacrifice. To my two girls, Temerity and Scout, thank you for your patience through this journey. Mommy is finally done. Last but not least, I am extremely grateful to my partner in life, William Bauer. He endured this journey with me and was always my biggest supporter and you were right, I vi could do this! There are many others who I am sure I have failed to mention but I am truly grateful for the friendships and support that I was privy to in this journey and I am forever grateful. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...iii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………..v Chapter 1, Introduction………………………………………………..…………………..1 Chapter 2, Creating Our Own Land……………………………………………………...27 Land of
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