Wallace Stegner is a giant in the literature of the American West. So why is his 1945 collection of essays about racism in California so forgotten?
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[Essential California Newsletter] July 12, 2022
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[Click to view images]( pages of Wallace Stegner's "One Nation." The 1945 collection of photos and essays criticized racism across the U.S. but especially in California. (Gustavo Arellano / Los Angeles Times) Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California [newsletter](. Itâs Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Iâm Gustavo Arellano, reporting from Orange County. When Wallace Stegner died in 1993, [obituaries across the country]( hailed the Los Altos resident as the dean of writers about the American West. His body of literature â essays, nonfiction tomes, novels and more â and work as an editor and professor influenced a generation of writers such as former students Ken Kesey, Larry McMurtry, Wendell Berry and even future Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OâConnor. But Stegner has slowly receded from the American popular imagination, as a new generation of writers have critiqued his âwhiteâ gaze and universities have stopped teaching his work. Thereâs one Stegner book, however, that I think those haters might embrace and that few Stegner fans have ever read: âOne Nation.â Itâs a 1945 collection of essays and stark black-and-white photos drawn from assignments with Look magazine. Long out of print, âOne Nationâ is an unflinching view of the prejudice minorities across the United States â Black people, Jews, ethnic Catholics, Native Americans and others â faced at a time when this country was supposedly united against bigotry in the face of the Axis menace during World War II. âWe are not dealing with isolated and local situations, or even primarily with a national situation,â Stegner wrote in his intro. âThings we have permitted have a clear relationship with Nazi practices; the difference is only a difference in degree.â And no state was nastier in Stegnerâs estimation than California. He devotes four chapters to Golden State bigotry, each respectively focused on the struggles of Filipinos, Japanese, Chinese and urban Mexicans. We see manongs (an Ilocano term that translates as âelder brotherâ but signifies a respected older man in Filipino American culture) working the harvest in the Central Valley and going to Stockton, where a sign that reads âPositively No Filipinos Allowedâ hangs on the door. He follows Japanese Americans from the relative safety of Little Tokyo to incarceration camps to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the [Armyâs legendary âGo for Brokeâ]( regiment. Legendary cinematographer [James Wong Howe]( captures San Franciscoâs Chinatown as a vibrant neighborhood that has survived in spite of decades of legally sanctioned segregation. Meanwhile, Stegner kicks it with the pachucos of Boyle Heights, which he deems a âlost generationâ even as photos of chucos suaves and guisas firmes having a good time suggest otherwise (of particular note: a drawing of a buff homeboy from Happy Valley ready to beat down a trembling Okie who pleads, âNow letâs be reasonableâ). Stegnerâs writing can come off as paternalistic all these decades later, but his outrage is palpable. Itâs a remarkable indictment of the California dream, at a time when the only other person willing to critique the stateâs treatment of minorities on a national platform was [Carey McWilliams](. This was ethnic studies before ethnic studies. Iâm not a Stegner scholar, so Iâm not sure why it didnât sell or why so few remember âOne Nationâ today. Youâre going to find it only in library special collections or at used bookstores for the starting price of $100 (sorry, you canât borrow my copy). But itâs a worthwhile, essential read for Stegner fans, lovers of California, and people who believe in the âAmerica for allâ that Stegner begs his readers to build in the conclusion. âItâs a job,â he concludes, in words that continue to resonate, âfor the average Americans in every community, the Smiths and Johnsons and Browns in whose image democracy was created.â And now, hereâs whatâs happening across California: Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. ADVERTISEMENT
L.A. STORIES California cities ban new gas stations in a battle to combat climate change. Iâm sure the nice burbs in the Bay Area that have implemented this policy and the politicians who are pondering such a move have tapped into Ed Begley Jr.'s Simpsonian technology of powering cars with oneâs own sense of self-satisfaction. [Los Angeles Times]( Dodger Stadium concession workers threaten to strike All-Star Game. The mighty Unite Here Local 11 always knows how to troll Angeleno civic life in the name of worker dignity. [Los Angeles Times]( [A giant American flag covers the field at Dodger Stadium]
All-Star festivities start Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Above, the home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on April 14. (Jack Harris / Los Angeles Times) Larry Wilmore knows no bounds. The legendary television writer, producer and mentor talks his craft but also about growing up in Pomona when it was a hub of middle-class Black life in Southern California. [Vulture]( The Zacatecas-LAX express. UC Riverside professor and fellow jerezano Adrián Félix pens a beautiful tribute to the ritual that thousands of Southern Californians are taking this summer (but, compa profe, what about the CBX crossing at Otay Mesa?). [Tropics of Meta]( Our daily news podcast If youâre a fan of this newsletter, youâll love our daily podcast âThe Times,â hosted every weekday by columnist Gustavo Arellano, along with reporters from across our newsroom. Go beyond the headlines. Download and listen [on our App]( subscribe [on Apple Podcasts]( and follow [on Spotify](. POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT She won a local election in a landslide. A conservative activist launched a recount anyway. Randy Economy, late of the laughable Gavin Newsom recall effort, tried to waste everyoneâs time in Nevada County. He called it off after The Times published an article about it. [Los Angeles Times]( An exit interview with Ana Matosantos, Newsomâs Cabinet secretary. Off to the next adventure this keeper of secrets goes! [Los Angeles Times]( Animation museum project secures $2.5 million from California. Sponsoring state Sen. Anthony Portantino (DâLa Cañada Flintridge) mustâve forgotten that animation is a multibillion-dollar industry, and that his district has more pressing needs than subsidizing Hollywood giants â like reminding the rest of us how to get to La Cañada Flintridge. [Hollywood Reporter]( CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING How drag queens are fighting queer censorship. After the Proud Boys targeted Drag Queen Story Hours throughout Pride Month, one San Francisco-based drag performer is finding hope in young people and the LGBTQ+ community. [The Progressive]( First Fresno cannabis dispensary opens. City Council member is first official customer. Somewhere, William Saroyan is laughing. [Fresno Bee]( Support our journalism [Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.]( ADVERTISEMENT
HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT âNo treatment until tragedyâ is our mental health system. CARE Court could change. My fellow columnist Anita Chabria argues that Gov. Newsomâs plan to create a civil system of courts to handle cases of severe mental illness âisnât just a good idea but a moral obligation.â [Los Angeles Times]( Viral video shows sea lions chasing beachgoers at La Jolla Cove. Somewhere, Buster Bluth is crying. [Los Angeles Times]( [Trees shade a path next to a building.]
A pepper tree near the doors of the Hollywood Bowl Museum in Hollywood. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) En celebracÃon de un árbol de pimienta. Youâre gonna have to know how to read Spanish to read this Paraguayan newspaper and wonderful history of Southern Californiaâs pepper trees â but you already know how to español, right? [ABC Color]( CALIFORNIA CULTURE How an acclaimed cartoon shines a âcrucialâ spotlight on Black American Sign Language. Cartoon Networkâs delightful âCraig of the Creekâ takes representation to the next level through the help of the Southern California Black Deaf Advocates. [Los Angeles Times]( How this champagne-hued Ford pickup from 1965 stole Adri Lawâs heart. Nothing against the Angeleno native profiled, but as the owner of a â68 VW Bus, a â79 Ford Supercab, and a â73 Eldo convertible, Rancheros are whatever. [Bloomberg Pursuits]( Death and the playwright. Luis Valdez talks about Mayan physicality, his new book, and his legacy. [Voices of Monterey Bay]( Free online games Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at [latimes.com/games](. CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles: partly cloudy, 79. San Diego: partly cloudy, 71. San Francisco: partly cloudy, 68. San Jose: partly cloudy, 84. Fresno: sunny, 105. Sacramento: sunny, 96. AND FINALLY Todayâs California memory is from Eric Carey: In 1975, having relocated from the East Coast and rented a small apartment in West L.A., I headed to a nearby department store to pick up a few items. At the cash register, I wrote a check and handed it to the saleswoman with my driverâs license. She studied it, looked up and, giving me the once over, said, âDistrict of Columbia. Is that in South America?â If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, [share it with us](. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. ADVERTISEMENT
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