Still A Long Way To Go Mesa: Segregation, Civil Rights, Discrimination + Social Justice

Movie Poster from IMDb

Arizona, once part of The Confederacy in its early history was the Cotton capital of the World, and Mesa was a major producer. The cotton workers and their families lived downtown in segregated housing, just a short distance north of Main Street. Black pilots training at Falcon Field were also housed there in for World War II.

The documentary "North Town", made in 2011 by Bruce Nelson who was born and lived here, explores the once segregated black community in Mesa from in the early 1900's to the 1980's. North Town has become known as Washington -Escobedo Park Neighborhood. 

[See below to see City of Mesa Heritage Wall story about this]

It's now the ground area for Phase 2 of Escobedo @ Verde Vista that's rising where some of the original buildings are part of an office and cultural history exhibit.

[Readers can scroll down to an earlier posting on this blog from March 2, 2015 to see details]

Here is a link to a preview trailer for this documentary where Bruce Nelson examines this small community and visits with some of the residents past and present to discover their experiences and connection to the national Civil Rights Movement, local politics, church life, segregation, discrimination, prejudice, bias and racism in Mesa, Arizona and America.  

Written & Directed by Bruce Nelson

Hit this link to see the trailer >>> http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi617719577/

"North Town" was shown @ The Nile Theater back on February 11, 2012 and at the Tempe History Museum on February 26 of this year.
On Wednesday, June 17th the 65-minute documentary returns to downtown Mesa with a screening that will be shown at Mesa Arts Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

6:00 pm

Film screening and panel discussion with Q&A

Dobson Lecture Hall

Go to this link for details from City Of Mesa Office of Diversity http://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/diversity-office/community-cinema-series

Community Cinema is a national documentary screening series sponsored locally by The City of Mesa Office of Diversity, City of Mesa Human Relations Advisory Board, Mesa Public Library, Eight Arizona PBS and the Independent Television Service (ITVS).  

 

Historian Jay Mark wrote a special report on the showing of this documentary that was published in The Arizona Republic on June 11th. As he writes, " It's a subject people still don't want to talk about these days . . . "
You can link to the article here >>> When Mesa faced discrimination and segregation

The City of Mesa has for a long time tried to "white-wash" its questionable history of discrimination that continues to this day. 
It's an issue that certain people still don't want to face by putting consideration of a city-approved nondiscrimination ordinance "on hold", instead of demonstrating the needed leadership that the private sector has long supported. The City Council has been dodging this issue for months.

Here's some information from the City Hall Plaza Heritage Wall: 
Land in the original Mormon townsite could not be purchased by either Mexican-Americans until 1916, and not until 1920 by African-Americans - looks like there weren't any Civil Rights Acts or Fair Housing Laws back then.

1916: Escobedo Neighborhood
In 1916, the Verde Vista subdivision was created, offering Mexican Americans their first real opportunity to buy homes in the Mesa area. Located north of University between Sirrine and Pasadena, Verde Vista grew rapidly in the 1920s. The center of Mesa’s Mexican-American community, it was home to a mixture of residences and small businesses. Later it was called the Escobedo neighborhood, after a local housing project of the same name built in the 1940s.


1920: Washington Community 
African Americans came to Mesa starting in the early 1900s, but discrimination kept them from owning homes in the original townsite. The first housing subdivision to welcome them as buyers and residents was the Mitchell Addition, created in 1920 on land north of University and east of Center. Together with another subdivision, Tuskegee Place, it soon became known as the Washington neighborhood, after the school of the same name.