The Negro in California History. Panel 1: Exploration and Colonization
1media/15-921.jpg2021-04-05T20:24:02-07:00Curtis Fletcher3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e387063Hale Woodruff 1999 West Adams Boulevard 1949plain2021-05-18T15:34:14-07:00USC Digital Library1949(Artist) Alston, Charles34.032918, -118.308715Dunitz, Robin J.Curtis Fletcher3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e
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1media/15-921.jpgmedia/15-921.jpg2021-04-05T20:34:17-07:00The Negro in California History - Settlement and Development9Hale Woodruff 1999 West Adams Boulevard 1949plain2021-05-18T16:00:35-07:00194934.032918, -118.308715Hale Woodruff’s The Negro in California History - Settlement and Development is located in the lobby of the Golden State Mutual building. It was placed opposite Charles Alston’s The Negro in California History - Exploration and Colonization. Together, this grouping depicts African American life in California in the centuries leading up to the mid 1900s. Specifically, Woodruff’s mural illustrates the African American labor force that was instrumental in the modernization of California, which the artist depicts through scenes showing Black laborers working in gold mines, building the Golden Gate Bridge, and putting up signs demanding equality among races.
Woodruff has said that the racism and poverty he witnessed during the Great Depression inspired him to address these subjects in The Negro in California History. To this end, the mural’s placement is also significant. At the time of its creation, Golden State Mutual Life Insurance was the largest Black-owned company in the west. Many African Americans were denied insurance due to existing stereotypes and discrimination, but Golden State Mutual Life Insurance was able to rectify this wrong. This building was designed and constructed by African American architects, and the murals inside were painted by African American artists - just one of the countless ways African Americans have helped the modernization of California.
