Slavery – San Diego, Then & Now – Democratic Socialists of America

DSA Night School
November 28, 2023

Did you know that California—including San Diego—has a sordid history rife with slavery? It’s not what you might initially think when you hear the word “slavery.” DSA San Diego’s Education Committee takes a look at San Diego’s history of slavery and how it exists today.

Timeline

Sources & Further Reading

Books

Pfaelzer, Jean. California, a Slave State. United Kingdom: Yale University Press, 2023.
(San Diego Public Library | San Diego County Library)

By Topic

What is Slavery?

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “slavery,” accessed November 21, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slavery.

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “chattel,” accessed November 21, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chattel.

Outline

International Labor Organization – Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C029

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_labour

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_labor_in_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_trafficking_in_the_United_States

A Teacher’s Guide to Historical and Contemporary Kumeyaay Culture, A Supplemental Resource for Third and Fourth Grade Teachers
https://mtrp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KumeyaayGuide.pdf

Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians – History
https://www.mesagrandeband-nsn.gov/history/

San Diego Kumeyaay Tribes – Study on poverty and education related statistics on Kumeyaay reservations in San Diego County
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/229fb553f7b944d589ea38a8efbee61b

Museum of Us
https://museumofus.org/

1769-1823 Mission Period

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_missions_in_the_Americas

https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/california-indians/

Indian Labor at the California Missions Slavery or Salvation?
https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1978/april/labor/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_genocide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauma_massacre

Untold History: The Survival of California’s Indians
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/tending-the-wild/untold-history-the-survival-of-californias-indians

The dark, terrible secret of California’s missions
https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/The-dark-terrible-secret-of-California-s-missions-2685666.php

Junípero Serra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%C3%ADpero_Serra

https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/serra/

Sebastian Vizcaíno
https://sandiegohistory.org/archives/biographysubject/vizcaino/

Francisco Palóu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Pal%C3%B3u

Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferm%C3%ADn_de_Lasu%C3%A9n

Mission San Diego de Alcalá – History
https://www.missionsandiegohistory.org/english

San Diego Mission Church
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/San_Diego_Mission_Church.html

Indigenous San Diego
https://chicanohistory.sdsu.edu/chapter01/c01.html

Revolting Indians, Passive resistance to colonial rule
https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2000/jul/20/revolting-indians/

https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=NATIVE_AMERICANS_in_the_MISSION_ECONOMY

https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=The_%22Good_Old_Mission_Days%22_Never_Existed

Post-Mission Period

A Second Century of Dishonor: Federal Inequities and California Tribes (1996)
https://www.aisc.ucla.edu/ca/tribes.htm

University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons
American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899
Mission Indians in California
https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5550&context=indianserialset

Secularization of the Missions
https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=540

“At a meeting of Fitzgerald’s Volunteers…” San Diego Herald (December 5, 1851)
http://calindianhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/12_04_1851_At_meeting_SDH_2_4.pdf

1848-1958
https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/pacific/who-we-are

The Garra Uprising: Conflict between San Diego Indians and Settlers in 1851
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25154158
Evans, William Edward. “The Garra Uprising: Conflict between San Diego Indians and Settlers in 1851.” California Historical Society Quarterly 45, no. 4 (1966): 339–49. https://doi.org/10.2307/25154158.

San Diego History: Garra’s Uprising
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-10-me-4992-story.html

The Indians of southern California in 1852; the B.D. Wilson report and a selection of contemporary comment.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/calbk.051?st=pdf&pdfPage=1

Free Soil, Unfree Labor: Cave Johnson Couts and the Binding of Indian Workers in California, 1850-1867
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/phr.2004.73.3.349
MAGLIARI, M. “FREE SOIL, UNFREE LABOR.” Pacific Historical Review 73, no. 3 (2004): 349–90. https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2004.73.3.349.

The Trajectory of Indian Country in California: Rancherias, Villages, Pueblos, Missions, Ranchos, Reservations, Colonies, and Villages, Pueblos, Missions, Ranchos, Reservations, Colonies, and Rancherias (2008)
https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?httpsredir=1&article=2654&context=tlr

How one author uncovered the fact that California was — and remains — a slave state
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-06-28/how-the-author-of-california-a-slave-state-revised-our-too-sunny-history

How California Became a ‘Slave State’ (links to a video “The Case for Reparations”)
https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893691/how-california-became-a-slave-state

State of California Native American Heritage Commission – California Indian History
https://nahc.ca.gov/native-americans/california-indian-history/

San Diego Indians and the Federal Government Years of Neglect, 1850-1865
https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1980/july/neglect/

Indian Labor In San Diego County, California, 1850-1900
https://www.kumeyaay.com/indian-labor-in-san-diego-county,-california,-1850-1900.html

1915-16 Panama California Exposition

Panama-California Exposition – Native Americans Come to Balboa Park
https://sandiegohistory.org/archives/amero/1915expo/ch3/

Panama-California Exposition ~ San Diego ~ 1915-1916 (photos)
https://sandiegohistory.org/collection/photographs/sdexpo6/

1915-16 Panama California Exposition, Fr. Serra Memorial
https://www.sandiego.gov/digital-archives-photos/1915-16-panama-california-exposition-fr-serra-memorial

https://www.sandiego.gov/digital-archives-photos/1915-16-panama-california-exposition-varied-industries-building

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/panama-california-sculpture-court-casa-del-prado-san-diego

https://www.sandiego.gov/digital-archives-photos/looking-west-el-prado-pedestrian-walkway-casa-del-prado

Present-Day

‘It’s Called Genocide’: Newsom Apologizes to the State’s Native Americans (June 19, 2019)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/newsom-native-american-apology.html

Governor Newsom Issues Apology to Native Americans for State’s Historical Wrongdoings, Establishes Truth and Healing Council (June 18, 2019)
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/06/18/governor-newsom-issues-apology-to-native-americans-for-states-historical-wrongdoings-establishes-truth-and-healing-council

Executive order N-15-19
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/6.18.19-Executive-Order.pdf

About the California Truth & Healing Council
https://tribalaffairs.ca.gov/cthc/about/

An apology to Native Americans was buried in a 2010 defense bill. Now, some want the president to say it aloud. (July 30, 2021)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/an-apology-to-native-americans-was-buried-in-a-2010-defense-bill-now-some-want-the-president-to-say-it-aloud/2021/07/30/2094d60a-f163-11eb-bf80-e3877d9c5f06_story.html

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-111sjres14is

S. J. RES. 14 – To acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States. (introduced in Senate April 30, 2009; no vote)
https://www.congress.gov/111/bills/sjres14/BILLS-111sjres14is.pdf

California, a “Free State” Sanctioned Slavery
https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/blog/california-a-free-state-sanctioned-slavery/

African-Americans

Nathan Harrison was San Diego County’s first black homesteader and a local legend.
https://www.nps.gov/people/nathan-harrison.htm

Black Pioneers in San Diego 1880 – 1920
https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1981/april/blacks/

Slavery case unfolded in San Diego courtroom 75 years ago (July 5, 2022)
https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2022/07/05/slavery-case-unfolded-in-san-diego-courtroom-75-years-ago

The slavery case in San Diego County riveted the nation (September 22, 2022)
https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/la-times-today/2022/09/23/the-slavery-case-in-san-diego-county-riveted-the-nation

10 Historic Milestones of San Diego’s Black Community
https://sandiegomagazine.com/everything-sd/people/10-historic-milestones-of-san-diegos-black-community/

Japanese Americans Revisit Redress to Reparations Task Force (October 7, 2022)
https://www.pacificcitizen.org/japanese-americans-revisit-redress-to-reparations-task-force

AB 3121: Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans
https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121

California is the first state to tackle reparations for Black residents. What that really means
https://calmatters.org/explainers/reparations-california/

Mayor, City Council Make Juneteenth a Paid Holiday for City Employees (March 21, 2023)
https://www.sandiego.gov/mayor/juneteenth-paid-holiday-for-city-employees

Human Trafficking

Freedom Denied: Forced Labor in California (February 2005)
https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/publications/freedom-denied-february-2005.pdf

The Typology of Modern Slavery: Defining Sex and Labor Trafficking in the United States (March 1, 2017)
https://polarisproject.org/resources/the-typology-of-modern-slavery-defining-sex-and-labor-trafficking-in-the-united-states/

Sex Trafficking

Action Guide: Trafficking Prevention for LGBTQ+ Communities in San Diego (September 29, 2022)
https://polarisproject.org/resources/action-guide-trafficking-prevention-for-lgbtq-communities-in-san-diego/

HIDDEN SLAVES: Forced Labor in the United States (PDF), Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, September 2004, ISBN 0-9760677-0-6, archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2007

Fighting Human Trafficking
https://www.sandiego.gov/cityattorney/divisions/criminal/npu/fighting-human-trafficking

Human Trafficking Prevention & Intervention
https://lifelinecs.org/human-trafficking

California Against Slavery – About Us
https://californiaagainstslavery.org/about-us/

https://theuglytruthsd.org/get-the-facts/

https://theuglytruthsd.org/prevention/#1465328336639-be55f4da-44a7

San Diego County District Attorney
https://www.sdcda.org/preventing/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-faqs
https://www.sdcda.org/preventing/human-trafficking/

2022/2023 San Diego County Grand Jury Report (filed May 23, 2023)
AB 1227 Human Trafficking: The Fight Against Child Trafficking
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/grandjury/reports/2022-2023/AB%201227%20Human%20Trafficking%20-%20The%20Fight%20Against%20Child%20Trafficking%20Report.pdf

2018/2019 San Diego County Grand Jury 2018/2019 (filed May 30, 2019)
Human Trafficking: San Diego Needs Essential Services
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/grandjury/reports/2018-2019/HumanTraffickingReport.pdf

Final Report – Human Trafficking In California – California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force (October 2007)
https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/sites/dcjs.virginia.gov/files/publications/victims/human-trafficking-california-final-report-california-alliance-combat-trafficking-and-slavery-task.pdf

The Nature and Extent of Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking in San Diego County (April 2016)
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249857.pdf

48 people arrested in San Diego after months-long human trafficking investigation (February 22, 2023)
https://abc7chicago.com/san-diego-human-trafficking-sex-slaves-slavery-operation-better-pathways/12863034/

Migrant Laborers

Estimating Labor Trafficking among Unauthorized Migrant Workers in San Diego (2014)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261710511_Estimating_Labor_Trafficking_among_Unauthorized_Migrant_Workers_in_San_Diego

Zhang, S. X. (2012). Trafficking of Migrant Laborers in San Diego County: Looking for a Hidden Population. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/240223.pdf

Horrors of labor trafficking remain hidden with spotlight on sex trafficking (December 1, 2019)
https://www.castla.org/horrors-of-labor-trafficking-remain-hidden-with-spotlight-on-sex-trafficking
Originally from: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2019-12-01/horrors-of-labor-trafficking-struggle-to-gain-same-public-recognition-as-sex-trafficking

https://californiaagainstslavery.org/

Forced Prison Labor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison%E2%80%93industrial_complex#Prison_labor

Federal Prison Industries/UNICOR
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Prison_Industries

Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP)
https://bja.ojp.gov/program/piecp/overview

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/ca/2020/county.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_California_state_prisons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Donovan_Correctional_Facility

For $1 an hour, inmates fight California fires. ‘Slave labor’ or self-improvement? (October 20, 2017)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-how-much-are-california-inmate-firefighters-paid-to-fight-wildfires-20171020-htmlstory.html

https://worthrises.org/theprisonindustry2020

If Prison Workers are Essential, We Should Treat Them Like It: Prison Labor in the US, Part I (August 5, 2020)
https://corpaccountabilitylab.org/calblog/2020/8/5/if-prison-workers-are-essential-we-should-treat-them-like-it-prison-labor-in-the-us-part-i

Private Companies Producing with US Prison Labor in 2020: Prison Labor in the US, Part II (August 5, 2020)
https://corpaccountabilitylab.org/calblog/2020/8/5/private-companies-producing-with-us-prison-labor-in-2020-prison-labor-in-the-us-part-ii

California and Nevada may ban forced prison labor, servitude (February 16, 2023)
https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2023/02/16/california-and-nevada-may-ban-forced-prison-labor-servitude

Beyond Juneteenth: The Lingering Reality of Slavery in US Prisons (June 29, 2023)
https://www.laprogressive.com/prison-reform-2/beyond-juneteenth

End Slavery in California (ACA 8)
https://aclucalaction.org/bill/aca-8/
Report: Captive Labor – Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers (2022)

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240ACA8

College panel takes aim at ‘prison-industrial complex’ (November 14, 2019)
https://thecoastnews.com/college-panel-takes-aim-at-prison-industrial-complex/

Uprooting a culture of Mass Incarceration (January 17, 2020)
https://www.palomar.edu/telescope/2020/01/17/uprooting-a-culture-of-mass-incarceration/

Governor Newsom Signs AB 32 to Halt Private, For-Profit Prisons and Immigration Detention Facilities in California (October 11, 2019)
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/11/governor-newsom-signs-ab-32-to-halt-private-for-profit-prisons-and-immigration-detention-facilities-in-california/

Appellate Court Finds California’s Private Prison Ban Is Likely Unconstitutional (Oct 6, 2022)
https://immigrationimpact.com/2022/10/06/california-private-prison-ban-unconstitutional/

California tried and failed to ban for-profit ICE detention centers (June 28, 2023)
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-06-28/california-private-detention-ban-overturned-future

California tried and failed to ban for-profit ICE detention centers (July 4, 2023)
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/07/04/nation-world-news/california-tried-and-failed-to-ban-for-profit-ice-detention-centers-what-does-that-mean-for-other-states/

Colorado banned forced prison labor 5 years ago. Prisoners say it’s still happening (November 13, 2023)
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/13/1210564359/slavery-prison-forced-labor-movement

From Cages to the Community: Prison Profiteers and the Treatment Industrial Complex (March 6, 2018)
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2018/mar/6/cages-community-prison-profiteers-and-treatment-industrial-complex/

Federal Law

Fugitive Slave Laws

Constitution of 1789 – Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3)
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIV-S2-C3-1/ALDE_00013571/

An Act Respecting Fugitives from Justice, and Persons Escaping from the Service of Their Masters of 1793 – Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/ch39-ca-reparations.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_Slave_Act_of_1850

https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/the-fugitive-slave-act-1850

Compromise of 1850 (1850)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/compromise-of-1850

https://guides.loc.gov/compromise-1850

An Act for the Admission of the State of California into the Union (1850)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Act_for_the_Admission_of_the_State_of_California

https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_009/?sp=480

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/emancipation-proclamation

13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment

15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870)

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/15th-amendment

The Dawes Act (1887)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/dawes-act.htm

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act

https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-dawes-act-commission

Indian Citizenship Act (1924)

On this day, all American Indians made United States citizens
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-in-1924-all-indians-made-united-states-citizens

https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-02/

Indian Reorganization Act (1934)

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-5299/pdf/COMPS-5299.pdf

U.S. Code regarding Indians

25 U.S.C.
United States Code, 2009 Edition
Title 25 – INDIANS
CHAPTER 14 – MISCELLANEOUS
SUBCHAPTER XXV – INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2009-title25/html/USCODE-2009-title25-chap14-subchapXXV.htm

25 U.S.C.
United States Code, 2002 Edition
Title 25 – INDIANS
CHAPTER 19 – INDIAN LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS
SUBCHAPTER XII – TORRES-MARTINEZ DESERT CAHUILLA INDIANS CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
Sec. 1778 – Congressional findings and purpose
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2002-title25/html/USCODE-2002-title25-chap19-subchapXII-sec1778.htm

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-106hr3244enr/pdf/BILLS-106hr3244enr.pdf

California Mission Preservation Act (2004)

https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ420/PLAW-108publ420.pdf

https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1083&context=aulr

California State Law

1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians

https://www.loc.gov/item/2001696098/

https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/IB.pdf

California Fugitive Slave Act of 1852

https://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/explore/gold-rush.html

https://www.aclunc.org/docs/FINAL_California_Fugitive_Slave_Act.pdf

Common Schools

1852 Amendment to the California State Education Code: Chapter 53 (An act to establish a System of Common Schools.)
https://oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb796nb4hm&brand=oac4&doc.view=entire_text

Tape v. Hurley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_v._Hurley