Creating Community: Chicago and Los Angeles, 1900–1965
The years between 1900 and 1965 saw massive population growth and change in the United States. Immigrants and migrants were pulled to U.S. cities by the abundance of semi-skilled and low-skilled jobs, as well as other economic opportunities offered by an industrializing society. The foreign-born encountered and competed with Americans of African, Mexican, Asian, and European descent. Cities became places where newcomers and the native-born negotiated their place in a changing nation.
Chicago—City of Neighborhoods
By 1890 Chicago was booming with a population of one million; 80% were either foreign born or the children of immigrants. As in many cities, Chicago’s residents responded to increasing diversity in different ways. Some newcomers moved to be near others of the same nationality or religion. Many struggled to improve their living conditions, but race often determined opportunity.
Chicago, 1931
Bronzeville
By the 1930s the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side was home to a quarter of a million African American migrants, mostly from the rural South. Nearby white residents fled to other parts of the city and the suburbs, leading to a “Black Belt” segregated from white Chicagoans. Despite many challenges, a network of black-owned institutions including businesses, music clubs, social groups, and churches anchored the community.
Gospel Music in Bronzeville
Blues artist Thomas A. Dorsey migrated from Georgia in the early 1900s. A leading figure in the emerging gospel music genre, he directed the choir in Chicago’s South Side Pilgrim Baptist Church for sixty years. The church occupied a former synagogue, continuing to display its Star of David.
Los Angeles—City of Promise
Since its founding in 1781, Los Angeles has been under Spanish, Mexican, and American flags. By the 1930s it had grown into one of the world’s largest and most diverse metropolitan areas. Los Angeles drew people from around the country and the globe with the promise of better jobs and freedom to pursue broader opportunities. While many came and prospered, others faced challenges.
Coming Together in La Plaza
Ezequiel Moreno, a native of Zacatecas, Mexico, started a bakery in his home in 1918, and in the 1920s moved to La Plaza in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. He named the bakery La Esperanza, meaning hope. Soon it was frequented by customers across many segments of the Los Angeles community.
Mexican immigrants, downtown employees, and Hollywood movie stars came for bread, coffee, traditional Mexican dishes, and “American-style” lunches.
