Does Racism Exist in the SGV?
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Racism is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Merriam Webster defines race as, "a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock [or] a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics." Black people in SGV have been treated as a single race, distinct from Latinos, Asians, and whites. Native Americans in SGV refers to the Kizh indigenous people. Racial discrimination in SGV has existed against Latinos and Asians, but most predominantly against the indigenous and Black communities.
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Conversion of Kizh (Neophytes)
Let us examine the matter of punishment in the missions. In order to maintain the system against the neophytes' objections or apathy, the missionaries applied various forms of restriction and compulsion to conform to the rules. All of this ultimately came to rest on individuals in the form of corporal punishment, and this in turn became the focus of the neophytes' objections to the missionaries whom they correctly saw as personally responsible, and to the mission as the institution which was the vehicle. Punishable offenses were of two main types: 1) criminal, which included murder, assault, theft, armed robbery, and sex delinquencies such as incest, sodomy, fornication and rape which were strongly disapproved of by the Church; and, 2) political (or perhaps better, political-religious), which included fugitivism (classed as abandonment or renunciation of the faith), the refusal to perform assigned tasks, conspiracies to incite acts to overthrow the regime, destruction of mission or military goods or property, physical assault on either missionaries or soldiers.
The goal was to convert Kizh away from their culture and way of life. Colonizers labeled the Kizh way of life as savage and sought to do away with it. Those who did not convert faced harsher consequences, those who did convert were enslaved. Since the time European colonizers settled in SGV, the indigenous people had no chance.
The goal was to convert Kizh away from their culture and way of life. Colonizers labeled the Kizh way of life as savage and sought to do away with it. Those who did not convert faced harsher consequences, those who did convert were enslaved. Since the time European colonizers settled in SGV, the indigenous people had no chance.
Heizer, R. (1978). Impact of colonization on the native California societies. The Journal of San Diego History, 24(1), 121-139.
Land Distribution
From 1771 to 1821, Spain ruled over the area that would become the SGV. They stripped the Kizh of their land, was responsible for many Kizh people dying, and would enslave a great number of them to tend to the land and expand the operations of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. The Spanish government gave out land grants and these areas of land, also called rancherias, were used to produce profits from the land. The lands given by the Spanish government were given by light-skinned individuals, usually of privilege or connection to the government. When the Mexican government took over, they too preferred lighter-skinned Mexicans and individuals of European descent in their land grants. Finally, the U.S. took over the land and through segregation, restrictive covenants, and outright violence prevented minorities from owning land in the region, especially Black Americans who were still under the institution of slavery when California became a state. At no point in SGV history have Black Americans and indigenous people been in a position of equal status with regard to accessing land.
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Housing
Latinos and Asians belong to nations outside of the U.S. These mainly included Mexico, China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Phillipines, and Southeast Asian countries. While these groups experienced discrimination, the efforts of the colonizers was not expressly to do away with their culture, but to assimilate them. This had much to do with Latinos having an obscure "whiteness" and Asians being considered the "model minority." Latinos recieved obscure whiteness in California because the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo technically gave them "white" status, by providing them access to land and government, not provided to other minority groups. Asians became known as the "model minority," because many came into the SGV with resources. This allowed them to assimilate into white middle class and perpetuate a stereotype that Asians had the same values as whites and thus made them less a risk. These two dynamics made it possible for Latinos and Asians to purchase property in SGV. As Latinos and Asians moved in, white people moved out. Black people were not permitted to purchase property in SGV at all. To present day, the Black community in SGV hardly exists, except in Altadena, the city that apparently did not have racial limits against Black people purchasing property.
Due to racist housing policies and practices, you can see the racialized division of the SGV. Aside from a small pocket in the Pomona area, the white community is located along the edges. The wealthy, middle-class Asian community serves as a buffer between the white community and Latino and poor Asian communities.
- Cheng, W. (2013). The Changs next door to the Diazes: suburban racial formation in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley. Journal of Urban History, 39(1), 15-35.
- Li, W. (1999). Building ethnoburbia: The emergence and manifestation of the Chinese ethnoburb in Los Angeles' San Gabriel Valley. Journal of Asian American Studies, 2(1), 1-28.
- Zhou, M., Tseng, Y. F., & Kim, R. Y. (2008). Rethinking residential assimilation: The case of a Chinese ethnoburb in the San Gabriel Valley, California. Amerasia Journal, 34(3), 55-83.
Race and Economics
In reviewing the 2019 census data of 31 cities and unincorporated areas throughout SGV, what is clear the division between the white, Latinos, and Asians. The data shows a clear relationship between the race of a city and the city's income, poverty, home values, health insurance, and education. The relationship between race and these outcomes are very clear for the Latino-majority and white-majority cities; however, the outcomes of the Asian-majority cities are interesting and tell the exact history of the Asian experience that has been outlined throughout this website.
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These are the averages of the
31 cities assessed: Owner-occupied percentage: 59.7% High School graduation rate: 82.4% Percentage with a bachelor's degree: 35.2% Home values of owner-occupied homes: $631,158 Poverty rate: 11.6% percentage without health insurance: 9.46% |
White-Majority Averages
65.67% 93.28% 48.27% $702,729 8% 5.7% |
Latino-Majority Averages
55.46% 71.43% 18.38% $426,245 14.5% 13.4% |
Asian-Majority Averages
61.46% 85.15% 42.87% $801,610 11.05% 7.84% |
Asian with Arcadia and San Marino
58.65% 82.7% 37.5% $632,663 11.49% 8.8% |
Systemic Racism in SGV
White Community
Not a single white city scores above average in poverty and lacking healthcare. Not a single white city scores below average in education and only one scores below average in home ownership . There is not a single white-majority city that has an average home value of less than $540,000. These outcomes are explained by segregation, restrictive covenants, and other forms of housing discrimination, as well as white flight away from cities with a significant minority population.
Latino Community
Not a single Latino city scored below average in poverty and lacking healthcare. Not a single Latino city scored above average in education and only two Latino cities are above average in home ownership. Not a single Latino city has home value averages higher than $500,000. These outcomes are explained by systemic discrimination that discriminated against darker and indigenous Mexicans and Latinos. With no transnational ties, but quasi-white status, Latinos were provided limited access to ownership due to economic and political discrimination.
Asian Community
With regard to the Asian community, if you take out two outliers, Arcadia and San Marino, the Asian community is almost exactly average with the statistical outcomes. These outcomes are explained by Asian migration and immigration patterns. Income stratification is significant in the SGV Asian population. This is caused by the immigration of professional and educated Asians, transnational economic ties and activity of the wealthy Asians, and the immigration and migration of working class Asians.
Not a single white city scores above average in poverty and lacking healthcare. Not a single white city scores below average in education and only one scores below average in home ownership . There is not a single white-majority city that has an average home value of less than $540,000. These outcomes are explained by segregation, restrictive covenants, and other forms of housing discrimination, as well as white flight away from cities with a significant minority population.
Latino Community
Not a single Latino city scored below average in poverty and lacking healthcare. Not a single Latino city scored above average in education and only two Latino cities are above average in home ownership. Not a single Latino city has home value averages higher than $500,000. These outcomes are explained by systemic discrimination that discriminated against darker and indigenous Mexicans and Latinos. With no transnational ties, but quasi-white status, Latinos were provided limited access to ownership due to economic and political discrimination.
Asian Community
With regard to the Asian community, if you take out two outliers, Arcadia and San Marino, the Asian community is almost exactly average with the statistical outcomes. These outcomes are explained by Asian migration and immigration patterns. Income stratification is significant in the SGV Asian population. This is caused by the immigration of professional and educated Asians, transnational economic ties and activity of the wealthy Asians, and the immigration and migration of working class Asians.
Numbers for this analysis provided by the 2019 U.S. Census.
Cities Used for Census Analysis
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White-Majority
Claremont (50.2), La Verne (48.8), Glendora (49.2), San Dimas (45.9), Sierra Madre (65.6), South Pasadena (42.4), and Altadena (40). |
Latino-Majority
Azusa (63.6), Covina (58.7), West Covina (53.2), Pomona (71.5), La Puente (84.2), Valinda (77.8), Baldwin Park (74.2), Duarte (49.9), El Monte (65.8), South El Monte (84), and Montebello (77.9). |
Asian-Majority
Diamond Bar (55), Rowland Heights (61.9), Walnut (63.4), Arcadia (60.8), Temple City (62), Rosemead (60.6), Monterey Park (66.5), Alhambra (51.2), San Gabriel (59.7), and San Marino (59.5).. |