Shana Bernstein's Bridges Of Reform

Throughout the 1900s, the United States of American dealt with civil rights issues. California struggled with civil rights starting with the labor wars all the way to the 1970s. In the book Bridges of Reform, the author, Shana Bernstein, focuses on civil rights activism in the West coast, specifically Los Angeles. Additionally, Bridges of Reform attempts to point out how important the West, especially cities like Los Angeles, were in dealing with a nation of civil rights issues. Bernstein successfully argues how coalitions among multiple races in Los Angeles helped shape civil rights battles not only in Los Angeles but across the nation. In the beginning of the book, Bernstein introduces the idea of postwar Los Angeles and how the wars created
Next, she talks about the Cold War Era and the restrictions it placed on people. Nevertheless, she focuses on how multiracial coalitions were able to power through these restrictions and create change. The Cold War had many effects on Los Angeles, for example, it brought races such as African Americans, Mexican Americans, Jewish Americans, and immigrants. Because of all the races, Los Angeles started dealing with racial problems as groups faced discrimination and segregations. However, coalitions among these groups created strength against these racial issues. Because of the strong coalitions built, Los Angeles began to be looked upon as a successful multiracial environment by the rest of the nation. Bernstein declares that groups had to work together because they had to do so. She stated that multiracial problems demanded multiracial sources. Because Los Angeles faced issues of segregation, anti-Semitism, and discrimination the people were forced to work together. Similarly, people who faced similar issues created groups and worked together to make a change. The people worked together through multiracial coalitions in Los Angeles, thus being an influential example for the rest of the
She states, “the Depression both heightened minorities’ awareness of racial discrimination and increased their possibilities for collaborative political mobilization, specifically through the New Deal.” The New Deal allowed for growing interracial political coalitions and gave minorities hope for change. All in all, the New Deal allowed for a multiracial environment and helped bring people together and create coalitions. Another source that Bernstein uses is a case study of the Mexican American-led Community Service Organization (CSO). This case resulted in the idea that fighting communism can create important relationships. These coalitions across Los Angeles allowed them to have political power, once again proving that Los Angeles had a great impact on civil rights activism. Shana Bernstein was successful in proving her argument and proving it strongly. She uses primary sources such as historical documents, magazines, reports, and case studies throughout the book, which created powerful evidence, and thus making her argument clearly successful. Bridges of Reform truly shined a light on the West Coast and allowed for the readers to understand how influential Los Angeles was for civil rights throughout the