Episode #19 feat. Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson
In this episode, Eric speaks with Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson who talks about her family tree, history and the journey of her anscestors who migrated to and settled in Los Angeles, the African American experience in Southern California during the twentieth century during the Jim Crow era and how this changed California. Eric and Dr. Jefferson discus her recent book entitled Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era and how African Americans pioneered leisure in American’s “frontier of leisure” through their attempts to create communities and business projects, in conjunction with the growing African American population of Southern California during the nation’s Jim Crow era.. and how African Americans helped define the practice and meaning of leisure for the region and the nation, confronted the emergent power politics of leisure space, and set the stage for the sites as places for remembrance of invention and public contest.
Guest Bio: Alison Rose Jefferson is a third generation Californian. Presently her research and professional interests revolve around the intersection of historical memory, American history, the history of the African American experience in Southern California during the twentieth century great migration and Jim Crow era, heritage conservation, spatial justice and cultural tourism. She is also interested in her work’s intersections with the experiences of people of African descent in other global settings. Along with other work activities utilizing her knowledge and skills expertise, she has written a book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era. This study examines how African Americans pioneered leisure in American’s “frontier of leisure” through their attempts to create communities and business projects, in conjunction with the growing African American population of Southern California during the nation’s Jim Crow era. The places Jefferson examines illustrate a range of recreation and relaxation production purposes and societal encounters at beach and inland locations. Through struggle over these places described in her book, African Americans helped define the practice and meaning of leisure for the region and the nation, confronted the emergent power politics of leisure space, and set the stage for the sites as places for remembrance of invention and public contest. Her research and applied history projects illuminating these stories extend the narrative of the African American experience in American historical writings and memory of California, and the U.S. in general by expanding the examination of the struggle for leisure and public space for all Americans in long freedom rights struggle. Her applied history project work and book, Living the California Dream…, were honored with the 2020 Miriam Matthews Ethnic History Award by the Los Angeles City Historical Society for its exceptional contributions to the greater understanding and awareness of Los Angeles history. Jefferson has participated in numerous public programs, including ongoing history public engagement events, lectures, museum exhibitions, oral history interview research, the creation of commemorative monuments, landmark site designations and documentary films.
