Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California [Paperback]

Elaine Elinson (Author), Stan Yogi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As Californians battle over Prop. 8's hotly contested ban on same-sex marriage, ACLU veterans Elinson (coauthor of The Development Debacle) and Yogi (co-editor of Highway 99) offer crucial perspective on the history of minority rights in a state long considered a political trendsetter. Beginning in the mid-19th century—amid the expulsion of Chinese communities from hundreds of California towns and state-sponsored genocidal campaigns against indigenous tribes—the authors describe, in hefty but clear and cogent detail, the shifting patterns of fear, xenophobia, white supremacy and economic competition and exploitation that have repeatedly motivated majorities of Californians to undermine the civil liberties of minorities. But the silver lining to this shameful history is boldly painted: from the free speech fights on behalf of workers by the IWW or on behalf of artists by poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Californians have relentlessly asserted their constitutional rights in cases and campaigns that have often strengthened the rights of all Americans. Readers will find this an essential reference in navigating the slogan-riddled civil rights issues of the day. (Oct.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 498 pages
• Publisher: Heyday Books; Original edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597141143
• ISBN-13: 978-1597141147
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A California History For Us All, October 13, 2009

By 

Lauren John (Menlo Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California (Paperback)

So many different kinds of people show up in California trying to do so many different kinds of things--small wonder that from Gold Rush days on, the state has been a proving ground for civil liberties.

This well researched, well written "alternative history" book, highlights individuals--some famous and some lesser known--who worked to change the legal system. The book is divided into chapters covering issues including the rights of workers, the rights of immigrants, the right to free expression, gay rights, and the rights of people with disabilities. This is a mostly chronological history of civil liberties in California--starting with Chapter One--Staking Our Claim--the law in early California. But because chapters are organized by issue--there is some jumping between decades.

The title of this book comes from the speech that Tom Joad, a character in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, gives as he fights for the rights of farmworkers:
"Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there...I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an'--I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build--why, I'll be there."

As a librarian, I loved that Chapter Seven, "Mightier Than the Sword" opens with the lines, "When Kern County librarian Gretchen Knief returned home for her vacation in August 1939, the familiar landscape was attracting national attention. The rich agricultural San Joaquin Valley, where Knief lived, was the setting of John Steinbeck's best-selling novel The Grapes of Wrath."

On Gretchen's desk was "an August 21 resolution from the Kern County Board of Supervisors ordering the book removed from the library shelves because it "offended our citizens by falsely implying that man of our find people are shallow, ignorant, profane and blasphemous types, living in a vicious filthy manner."

Knief fought the ban in court, but it was upheld until January 1941. Still there is her letter to the board of supervisors that says, "If the book is banned today, what book will be banned tomorrow? And what book will want a book banned the day after that?"

Wherever There's A Fight made me want to know more about Knief and other outspoken citizens who took on a wide range of civil issues. I actuall found myself reading this book with a notepad, so that I could take down their names and learn more about them later.

There is a lot of material covered here--you can use this as a reference rather than as a book to read in a few sittings. But I did read it in sittings on my Caltrain commute, lugging it all over town!

My hope is that this will be an assigned text for college and law school classes--or at least placed on a host of reserve reading lists. California history and civil rights issues come alive here, because of the emphasis on THE PEOPLE!

Highly recommended and don't miss the authors on their book tour!

Lauren Zina John M.L.S.
Librarian and book group leader
Palo Alto, California

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Fight, November 2, 2009

By 

Emrys R. Lloyd-Roberts (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California (Paperback)

If you want to know what really happened in California in the arena of civil rights from statehood to the present, this is the book for you. The authors have provided a wealth of information combined with human interest stories to bring the information alive in this engrossing book.

Be surprised to discover how recently our civil rights have needed legal intervention to be maintained. Be surprised to read stories of abuse of basic rights in this state we consider so free, liberal and advanced.

The authors have done excellent research and have provided a scholarly text. However, they have maintained ordinary interest and relevance by giving personal stories - sometimes heart warming, sometimes distressing, but always fascinating.

You won't be able to put it done!

4.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Journey through Civil Rights, November 7, 2011

By 

Keanu Heydari (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California (Paperback)

This books is a must for those involved with social justice and multicultural work. The author's are clear and concise and educate the reader with a narrative tone and inform of the zeitgeist of post-World War II America. From the chastisement of Jehovah's Witnesses to the murder of Black Muslims, this text teaches all who hear about the struggle for equality and social justice.