Camarillo

Albert M. Camarillo
Professor of History and Miriam and Peter Haas Centennial Professor in
Public Service Department of History
Stanford University

Cities of Color:
The New Racial Frontier in California's
Minority-Majority Cities

Demographic changes of enormous magnitude have altered the ethnic and racial composition of large cities and metropolitan suburbs across the nation over the past thirty years, especially in California. Many cities and suburbs that were once home to large majorities of whites are now places where ethnic and racial minorities form the majority. "Minority-majority" cities in California have emerged as a new frontier in ethnic and race relations where African Americans, Latinos, and other non-white groups now find themselves, many for the first time, living together and struggling to coexist. Though conflict, tension, and misunderstanding characterize this new racial frontier, historians and other scholars must look deeper to find examples of cooperation and collaboration in these new "cities of color." This presentation will consider three cities in California -Compton, East Palo Alto, and Seaside-as examples of the historical and contemporary forces that have shaped "minority-majority" cities and the relations between African Americans and Latinos in particular.