Tour takes riders on journey through Palm Springs Black history
Daniella Lake
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs Black history committee is hosting a bus tour, designed to take riders on a journey through Palm Springs Black history. The tour highlighted the trailblazers and locations that are central to Black history in the area, starting off with the first African American settlers, who came in the 1930s as part of the Great Migration.
“In those days, Palm Springs, like most cities in California, had restrictions that said, African-Americans couldn’t live within the city limits. So residents found shelter on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation,” says Deiter Crawford.
The area they settled is widely known as section 14, and they were later forcibly removed by the city of Palm Springs.
“They felt that they wanted to do a clean up in the area, and that was code for removing minority residents,” says Crawford.
Since then, the Section 14 Survivors group has fought for reparations, which News Channel 3 has covered extensively.
The tour also highlighted the architecture of Paul R. Williams, the Crossley tract neighborhood founded by Lawrence Crossley, and more.