Black Activism in the “Playground of America”: Leisure and the New Negro in Los Angeles, 1920-1929

This thesis investigates the role of leisure in New Negro politics in Los Angeles from 1920-1929. Through three case studies: a protest at Manhattan Beach, a legal battle challenging segregation at the Exposition Park pool, and the creation of Eureka Villa, I analyse both political and economic activism in Los Angeles. I argue that the freedom to pursue leisure, a defining aspect of the California Dream, was an essential and regionally distinctive dimension of New Negro activism in Los Angeles. Angelenos articulated a regionally distinctive New Negro modernity, centred on autonomy, dignity, and equal participation in the region’s promised lifestyle.