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Post-depression & Civil Rights Era
1939
World War II Begins
WW2 saw the mass recruitment of men into the armed forces and women take up roles in the workforce. Despite fighting for the U.S., black soldiers experienced a double-war, fighting against fascism on the global front and fighting racism within the U.S. military system.
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1942
Internment Camps in Fresno
In Fresno, Japanese detention facilities were set up in what was formerly one of the first lumber milling communities in the Fresno area, Pinedale, and at the Fresno Fairgrounds. These detention facilities were holding facilities before permanent internment camps were constructed. Japanese Americans and immigrants.
1942
U.S. Involvement in WWII, Executive Order 9066
In response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the U.S enacted Executive Order 9066, effectively placing Japanese Americans into internment camps. Over 127,000 people of Japanese descent were affected, the majority being U.S. citizens.
1942
Impact of Internment
Over 127,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly interned, including Japanese communities in Fresno and smaller rural central valley towns were.
David Mas Masumoto writes: "The Hiyamas of nearby Fowler scrambled to find a way to protect the farm they owned. They met with a local man named Kamm Oliver, and with a handshake reached an understanding. “The right thing to do,” Oliver told me years later. He’d ignored the accusations of “Jap lover” and “traitor.” Oliver took care of the Hiyama vineyard like it was his own, sending annual checks for the raisin harvest, until the Japanese American family returned. At one point, he and another neighbor drove from Fresno to the Gila River Relocation Center, south of Phoenix. Loaded in Oliver’s truck were furniture and other belongings for the Hiyamas to use in their barracks. As Oliver drove deep into the Arizona desert, he wondered aloud, “Who could live in this god-forsaken place?”
"Even in the bleak environment of the internment camps, the spirit to work the land persevered. It was about maintaining identity with resilience and hope. Growing food renewed a tie to something real: farming the dirt and feeding others. My dad was anxious to do something, “anything,” he said. Others thought it the best way to make the most of a bad situation."
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1942
Bracero Program
The impact of WW2 included a missing workforce. To make up for this, the U.S. created the Bracero Program that brought over Mexican residents to work as farm laborers.
1949
Housing Act of 1949
President Truman signs the Housing Act of 1949 which authorized federal advances, loans, and grants to assist with slum clearance and urban redevelopment.
1950
Civil Rights Era
The civil rights movement is a pivotal point in history, fighting for the Black American right to determination. The movement also sparked similar civil rights groups and movements by allies of color. The Central Valley was no stranger to the rhetoric and struggle for liberation that was seen across major U.S. cities. We will highlight a few key civil rights events in Fresno.
1950
Freeway 99 Construction
Freeway 99, the connector of the Central San Joaquin Valley would be completed and connect Fresno to Sacramento and down to Bakersfield.
Despite being dubbed the "connector", construction of the 99 impacted communities who lived by and on the construction, resulting in the push out of poor communities of color.
Freeway 99 would later be called a "Berlin Wall" in Southwest Fresno, which divides a poor disinvested Black and Brown community from the rest of Fresno.
1953
Fresno's Redevelopment Agency Created
Fresno creates the Redevelopment Agency, hires Victor Gruen to oversee development plans. Gruen is credited with creation of Fresno's historic outdoors Fulton Mall, once heavily trafficked by residents and in its last few years of being an outdoor mall, was home to many Mexican/Latinx businesses.
With redevelopment on the minds of Fresno civic leaders, the city opened 3 different shopping destinations from 1955 to 1970. The Manchester Center opened in 1955, outdoors Fulton Mall opened in 1964, and Fashion Fair Mall opened in 1970.
These developments marked the outward expansion of Fresno and saw the move of North/South Fresno division lines, from the railroad to McKinely Avenue, and now to Shaw Avenue. Today, the division lies as far North as Herndon Avenue and/or Friant Road.
1954
Brown v. Board of Education
Historic landmark case that deemed "separate but equal" as unconstitutional. This decision would lead to the desegregating of schools by integrating schools, particularly schools that had an overwhelming majority of White students. While Brown v. Board was billed as school de-segregation, it also had great implications for housing as school enrollment was tied to where families resided. Brown v. Board came after California's own historic case Mendez v. Westminster, where Mexican children and the color of their skin were the focal point of denied entry into a school based on skin color.
1955
Vietnam War, US involvement, and the Secret War
The U.S. intervenes in the Vietnam War, later withdrawing and resulting in the mass refugee resettlement of various Southeast Asian ethnic groups such as Vietnamese, Lao, Thai, Cambodian, and Hmong. Especially noteworthy is the U.S. creation of the "Secret War in Laos" that trained Hmong soldiers to be US allies. The minority group would later be exiled in many parts of Southeast Asia, with multiple families making the treacherous journey to the Thailand Ban Vinai refugee camp to await sponsorship to come to America. Beginning from Fall of Saigon in 1975 through the early 2000s, Hmong refugees were resettled throughout the United States.
1955
Manchester Center Opens
1956
Fresno State moves
Fresno State, formally founded in 1911 as the Fresno State Normal School and first located at the present-day Fresno City College, relocates to North Fresno (Shaw & Cedar).
1958
Fresno's General & Community College Plan Adopted
The plans adopted limited development that saw northward expansion controlled and encouraged developers to build within the city's existing city lines.
1959
Resurgence of National Chicano/Mexicano Organizing
Resurgence of national Chicano/Mexicano organizations in the US focused on the fight for housing, jobs, and the right to prosper. The Central San Joaquin Valley is home to many of these organizations such as The United Farm Workers, La Raza Studies in universities, and student organizations like Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlán. During this time, we also saw the rise of Chicano/Mexicano leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
1960–70
Rapid Development
& "Suburbanization"
in Fresno
These developments marked the outward expansion of Fresno and saw the move of North/South Fresno division lines, from the railroad to McKinely Avenue, and now to Shaw Avenue. Today, the division lies as far North as Herndon Avenue and/or Friant Road.
"Suburbanization" is a term to describe the growth and spatial reorganization of contemporary city. The growth out of the compact city is the result of the flow of population, dwelling places, and commercial and industrial activities to new low-density settlements. Suburbs rise out of the historically defined borders of the city, but they often functionally depend on city through commuting."
1961
Freeway 99 built out towards Madera
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1963
March on Washington
Over 250,000 people of all races congregate in Washington DC for a peaceful march to advocate for civil rights legislation and establishing job equality for everyone. MLK's famous "I have a dream..." speech was given here and galvanized the national civil rights movements and became a slogan for equality and freedom.
1963
Advocating for
Edison High
Mattie B. Meyer, First Vice President of the Central Area NAACP, provides a statement on the de facto segregation of Edison High School to the Select Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Education and Labor House of Representatives (Racial Discrimination in Federally Assisted Programs).
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1964
Fulton Mall Opens
1964
Fair Housing March in Fresno
Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a 3,000 person march to Ratcliffe Stadium for a Witness of Faith for Freedom Rally for fair housing. The march was made possible by Fresno resident Mattie B. Meyer.
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1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the historic legislation that was first initiated by President John F. Kennedy before his assassination. The Act guaranteed equal employment for all, limited the use of voter literacy tests, and allowed federal authorities to ensure public facilities were integrated.
1965–1970
Delano Grape Strike
Strike against grape growers begin with walkout of Filipinos farmworkers. The strike would go on to include Mexican farm workers and last 5 years.
1966
Southwest Fresno/The General Neighborhood Renewal Area
Redevelopment Agency studies Southwest Fresno and calls it the General Neighborhood Renewal Area. Primary indicator of decline was the concentration of poor and minority populations, socio-economic conditions were a result of "racial concentration" and compounded by deteriorated housing stock and infrastructure.
1967
Model Cities Program
Fresno enters the Model Cities program and nominates West Fresno as its model neighborhood. A few years later, Fresno would receive the Model Cities Planned Variations program and expand to Southeast Fresno. The federal initiative was billed an antipoverty program and sought new ways of government. In Fresno, the program proved helpful for community participation in city government processes.
1968
Fair Housing Act of 1968
The Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, sex, and national origin. Black home seekers began to encounter covert discrimination.
1969
Fresno State Ethnic Studies Controversy
Fresno State President makes decision to not rehire 8 Ethnic Studies faculty, which would terminate the department. Through student protests and demands, the college would reverse position and instead commit to building a robust Ethnic Studies Program and La Raza Studies Program. The decision comes after a 2-day investigation by a Blue Ribbon panel of Black educators.
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1970
Fashion Fair Opens
1966
Freeway 41 Begins Construction
As the city grows Northward, the building of a new freeway (41) would see the push out of poor Latino communities and cuts though Fresno's Armenia Town.
"In the 1970 photo we see that Freeway 41 has begun to slice through the old Armenian Town neighborhood in Downtown Fresno. By this time William Saroyan’s former school, Emerson Elementary, had been demolished along with many homes and businesses. The freeway had been constructed up to Van Ness, and land had been cleared up to O Street."
1972
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA barred discrimination on the basis of sex.
The amendment would pass in Congress and was to
be ratified by each state.
1972
Review of Fresno's Model Cities Program
"The department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publishes its annual review of Fresno's Model Cities Program, citing a lack of community engagement and comprehensive planning.
The same year as this report, the city of Fresno attempts to re-orient the Model Cities funds in order to fund industrial development — a decision that would divert funds allocated to West Fresno."
1973
Update to 1964 General Plan
Included in the process were the Neighborhood Council and Community Development Commission structures in place, creating a 24-member General Plan Citizens Committee that also included additional members from committees such as Commission on Aging and Youth Commission.
By the fall of 1973, the planning department developed 4 general plan alternatives:
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Alternative 1: Limited growth/Dominant Center - reinforcing the city’s commitment to downtown development through infilling the existing urbanized areas.
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Alternative 2: Continuation of existing trends - the no action option, in this alternative growth would continue to occur to the North and neighborhoods would continue to develop as relatively homogeneous areas in terms of physical, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition.
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Alternative 3: Suburban emphasis — the building industry alternative, which would accommodate all new growth in the Northern Fringe of the city and would eliminate zoning.
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Alternative 4: Balanced Growth/Multiple Centers — this alternative was seen as the compromise between the philosophies of alternatives 1, 2 and 3.
As the planning department reviewed the 4 plans, the Citizen's Committee were developing alternative 5 focused on the densification around Blackstone Avenue, which would increase access while containing development to the already urbanized areas — this plan was heavily supported by Citizen's Committee members.
Updates to the general plan also needed an environmental review, which was required by the passing of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970. The environmental review concluded alternatives 1 and 5 would have the best impact on the city's physical and social environments.
1974
City Adopts General Plan, Alternative 4
The City’s General Plan is updated in favor of urban growth, despite protest from the Citizens Committee, neighborhood council members and the general public.
Arguably this adoption was the city's lethal and legal commitment to "suburbanization" and "sprawl", which meant that there would be continued disinvestment in Southwest and Southeast Fresno, in favor of investment in North Fresno.
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1975
Arrival of Southeast Asian Refugees to Fresno
With the fall of Saigon in 1975 and the US' withdraw, hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asians would become exiles in their own countries and live years in persecution.
Today, approximately 35,000 Hmong currently reside in Fresno.
1978
Prop 13 Passes
A property tax passed by California voters would limit the amount of property taxes by rewarding homeowners who stay in their home and/or pass the property to their children. Prop 13 created a property tax loophole that disproportionately affects homeownership today.