Douglas High School

Douglas High School was located on Madison Street (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

Former site of Douglas High School (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

Maricopa County Downtown Justice Center (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

[address pending] 

Douglas High School which is sometimes also called Douglas Elementary School was a school for colored students.  It has been proposed that Douglas High School was located on 520 E. Madison Street in Phoenix Arizona.  Like many states in the country Arizona practiced segregation although many parts of Arizona dis not establish segregated schools.  The Phoenix school board however, decided to enact the “separate but equal doctrine” (Wheeler-Cronin, 10).  The enactment of the separate but equal doctrine helped establish Douglas High School as the first segregated high school in Phoenix Arizona in 1910. The first principal was J.T. Williams, and the first teacher was Lucy B. Craig (Dean, 25).  During this time there were only 328 African Americans in the area many of them traveling long distances from the East and the West to attend school. Douglas High School eventually moved its location to 1201 E. Jefferson St. and changed its name to Booker T. Washington Elementary School (Dean, 25).

            In September of 1910 sixteen black students traveled two miles to attend Douglas High School. This act caused them and a small group of white people who supported them to want to take steps to counter segregation which made them second class citizens (Whitaker, 116).  In 1910 Samuel F. Bayless, a local black merchant, filed suit against the segregation of African American children in Douglas High School.  Bayless won the injunction that allowed African American children in grades one through four to attend their neighborhood schools, but this injunction was overturned in 1912 (Whitaker, 116).  This structure continued until 1926 when there were enough African American students to justify creating Phoenix Union Colored High School (Wheeler-Cronin, 10).  In 1945 students began to stage sit-ins in protest of segregation and in 1951 legislation passed giving school an option of desegregating schools.  While many schools in Arizona began to desegregate, Phoenix resisted.  The students and other Civil Rights groups continued to protest and in 1953, in a landmark decision, Superior Court Judge Fred C. Struckmeyer handed down the first legal opinion in the United States declaring school segregation unconstitutional (Whitaker, 121). This was a victory for African American Students because it desegregated the schools in Arizona.

            The events that occurred at Douglass High School demonstrate how the hegemonic group, or the group who establishes rule (Omi and Winant, 61), are able to make the rules and divide people based on race.  By dividing people based on race it makes minorities’ second class citizens.  That is exactly what occurred at Douglas High School when segregation was implemented; it was used to make them into second class citizens (Whitaker, 118).  Even Lincoln Ragsdale, a major Civil Rights activist in Phoenix, Arizona, stated “Arizona’s educational system and Phoenix’s decision to remain segregated were designed to humiliate black children and teach them that they were inferior” (Whitaker, 120).  This follows what Nicholas De Genova  discussed about white supremacy when he mentioned “white supremacy has always been premised on racial blackness and keeping blacks at the bottom, which was the U.S. social order” (De Genova, 2).  Douglas High School and the segregation movement in Phoenix, Arizona represent not only a power struggle but a struggle over space as well.  It is through this struggle that race was able to be transformed in Arizona.

            Today Douglas High School no longer exists.  The school was closed down in 1984 and in that space are parking lots and the Maricopa County Justice center.  Also noted at this location is a plethora of homeless people sleeping on the streets with trash along the ground with most of the homeless people being African Americans.

- Lysandra Whitlow, Briana Tyson, and Brian Simpson 

Works Cited

De, Genova Nicholas. Racial Transformations Latinos and Asians Remaking the United States. Durham, NC [u.a.: Duke Univ., 2006. Print.

Dean, David R., and Jean A. Reynolds. "African American History Survey." City of Phoenix. Public History Group, Oct. 2004. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://phoenix.gov/HISTORIC/study.pdf>.

Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States: from the 1960s to the 1990s. New York: Routledge, 1994. Print.

Wheeler-Cronin, Dee. "State of Black Arizona: Housing and Education." State of Black Arizona 2: 1-15. Print.

Whitaker, Matthew C. Race Work: the Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2005. Print.

Sky Harbor Airport

The beginning of Sky Harbor Airport (Source: http://theterryfitzpatrick.com/2011/03/29/history-of-phoenix-arizona/)

Sign for Sky Harbor Airport (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

The building of the new train (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

 [address pending]

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is located 3 miles east of downtown Phoenix between Washington Street and 24^th Street.  Sky Harbor Airport was named by J. Parker Vanzant who owned Scenic Airlines.  In 1928 Parker bought 278 acres of cotton fields east of 24^th Street and created Sky Harbor Airport although there were a few airports already in Phoenix.  Unfortunately in 1929 the stock market crashed and Scenic Airlines was forced to sell Sky Harbor Airport to Acme Investment Company in 1930.  Then in 1930 Acme Investment Company persuaded Phoenix to buy the airport in 1935.  This was great for Phoenix  because during World War II Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport would receive a magnificent amount of growth making them the number one airport in the nation. 

            The problem with this magnificent amount of growth is that it meant Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport would need to expand and the first community that would be affected would be the poor Mexican community, the Golden Gate Barrio (Dimas, 93).  The Golden Gate Barrio was located in South East Phoenix and during the 1930’s was a thriving Latino community filled with adobe building and many small shops.  The formation of the Golden Gate Barrio is similar to an ethnoburb, which is a suburban, ethnic residential and business cluster in a large metropolitan area (Li, 77).  Ethnoburbs are usually formed in order to preserve a culture as was seen with the Golden Gate Barrio.  The problem with ethnoburbs is they receive a lot of criticism because they go against the conventional forms of assimilation (Li, 78) and can lead the dominant group to shut them down.  This is exactly what happened to the Golden Gate Barrio.  Although this was a thriving community, the federal government decided to relocate the residents of Golden Gate Barrio in order to expand Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in order to gain economic growth (Dimas, 95).  This was devastating because 1600 houses were lost due to this expansion (Collins, 165) along with small businesses being forced to close their doors.  Now the area of the Golden Gate Barrio is used as a rental car center and the only thing left is the Sacred Heart Church.  

The Western Land Acquisition Project (WALA) through the city of Phoenix, were responsible for the land grab from the community.  The project was slotted to create a half a billion dollars in investment, 14,000 jobs, and annual payroll to the city of $250 million.  The area has been theorized to have been taken over in order to rid the city of low income residential neighborhoods, to be replaced with a high tax based, higher income generating, less municipally dependant businesses.  Currently the entire area formerly known as the Golden Gate Barrio is considered a slum by the city of Phoenix. (Dimas 172)   

Another problem with the location of Sky Harbor airport is that its flight pattern is located so close to South Phoenix which is a minority neighborhood.  The majority of the residents in South Phoenix are Latino and African Americans which puts them at a risk for environmental racism.  African Americans as well as Latinos were forced to live in South Phoenix because of red lining in the past and still make up the majority of the population today.  There was no mistake making Sky Harbor so close to this neighborhood because white neighborhoods would not allow it (Bolin, 2).  Therefore these neighborhoods have become a toxic wasteland for Sky Harbor Airport making them prone to environmental racism, which is the idea that people of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards such as pollution (Pulido, 17). Environmental racism tends to affect people in poorer neighborhoods because it is cheaper to put business such as factories in those neighborhood and people in poorer neighborhoods are seen to not have a voice.  This is the view the federal government had with the people who resided in South East Phoenix, it was believed they did not have a voice and that is why the government was shocked when they complained (Collins, 163). The resident of South East Phoenix complained about the noise and smog that was coming from the airport and instead of taking action to reduce this problem the government just relocated the residents.

            Today Sky Harbor ranked number 18 for the busiest airports in the nation with 3 main terminals and 1700 acres of runway.  Sky Harbor Airport is also considered and International airport and is a major stop between many different countries throughout the world but especially Mexico.  Because of Phoenix’s rising population, Sky Harbor Airport is still planning more expansions such as the railway which would help people with transportation throughout Phoenix.

- Brian Simpson, Briana Tyson, and Lysandra Whitlow 

Works Cited

1940, December. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://skyharbor.com/about/earlyYears.html>.

Bolin, Bob. "The Geography of Despair: Environmental Racism." Research in Human Ecology 12.2 (2005): 156-68. Print.

Phoenix Airport (PHX) Information: Airport in Phoenix Area, AZ, USA. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.phoenix-phx.airports-guides.com/>.

Ruber, LLana. "Sky Harbor Lobbies Feds for $12 Million." The Business Journal (1996): 11. Print.

Dimas, Pete R. Progress and A Mexican American Community''s Struggle for Existence. New York: Peter Lang, 1999. Print.

Li, Wei. From Urban Enclave to Ethnic Suburb: New Asian Communities in Pacific Rim Countries. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, 2006. Print.

Pulido, Laura. "Rethinking Environmental Racism: White Privilege and Urban Development in Southern California." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 90.1 (2000): 12-40. Print.

Arizona Mills Mall

Arizona Mills Mall (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

Controversial hotel across the street from Arizona Mills Mall (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

Cabaret across the street from Arizona Mills Mall (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

5000 South Arizona Mills Circle, Tempe, AZ 85283

The Arizona Mills Mall, located at the south-east intersection of Interstate-10 and Interestate-60, in Tempe, Arizona, is a self-proclaimed "super value-oriented mega-mall."  The developer and former owners of the retail-outlet, Mills Corporation, chose the current site for a number of reasons.  For one, the land is cheap, “typically 30 minutes or more from major urban centers, the land under them has little intrinsic value.”  The outlet center’s site was strategically located also due to the number of vehicles passing by the interstates daily, giving the shopping center high visibility in a much trafficked area not far removed from the urban, population dense centers.  Removed from the urban cores that typically bring on higher crime rates, lower income levels, and less dependable (overstretched, underfunded) infrastructure.  Outlet stores have traditionally been located tens of miles away from retailers selling similar, typically more costly, goods.  In order for the retailers to not directly compete with the manufacturer for sales, this non-binding agreement was typical of the industry.  Mills Corporation was one of the first REIT (real estate investment trust) to challenge this common practice of clear distinction from retailer and manufacturer. 

            Retailers have increasingly been diversifying their marketing strategies finding more successful, profitable ways to operate.  Arizona Mills has utilized what retailers refer to as the “Big Middle.”  The “concept implies that retail institutions originate as innovators or low-price establishments…These retailers offer great value by providing innovative merchandise at reasonable prices” (Ganesh 371). 

Developers were searching for an area in the east valley of the Phoenix metro area to place a shopping center.  The final location was chosen to accommodate the varying players in the race, Chandler, Guadalupe, and Tempe, all of whom would receive proportional proceeds of the sales tax revenues generated.  When Chandler became a major player in the retailer market, in comparison to Tempe, they were squeezed out of the proceeds in 2003.   

            The site was chosen due to its proximity to the unincorporated (poor, non-white) city of Guadalupe.  Also taken into consideration is its proximity and availability to the concentrated minority populations of South Phoenix.  The competing interests of the urban ghetto community members seeking and finding a comfortable environment for entertainment and socializing clashing with middle-class white “families” led to curfews targeting teenagers.  The targets of the curfews are those who are not in the space to spend money, but are there to socialize, to spend their free time without having to spend significant amounts of money. 

The outlet appeals to a consumer base referred to as outshoppers and crosshoppers.  “Out-shopping occurs when consumers shop outside of the areas in which they live. Increased outshopping is prevalent among young cosmopolitan consumers with above average income levels, a particularly desirable target market. These shoppers, devoid of time, demonstrate a preference for combining recreation and entertainment with shopping, and hence are willing to travel greater distances to obtain these desired benefits. Crossshopping and out-shopping are byproducts of the growing similarity of retail formats and a one-stop shopping mentality” (Ganesh 371).  This targeted market’s clash with the urban ghetto (young minority groups) inevitably led to the introduction of a curfew to make for a more consumer friendly environment.   

- Briana Tyson, Lysandra Whitlow, and Brian Simpson

Works Cited

" Arizona Mills Had Swarmed With Teenagers." Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 08 Nov. 2006: 19. Print.

Armendariz, Yvette. " African-Artifacts Dealer Wins Lawsuit Against Arizona Mills." Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 25 Aug. 2005: B. 1. Print.

Beard, Betty. " Arizona Mills’ Teen Curfew Puts End to ‘Hanging Out’" Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 19 Oct. 2006: B.1. Print.

Beard, Betty. " With New Policy, Mall Touts Safety, Family, Atmosphere ." Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 03 Nov. 2006: D. 5. Print.

Ganesh, Jaishankar; Reynolds, Kristy E; Luckett, Michael G. “Retail patronage behavior and shopper typologies: a replication and extension using a multi-format, multi-method approach.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science: Online only May 2007.

Reinke, Martha. "Mall-war Site Targeted for Power Center." The Business Journal [Phoenix] 01 Nov. 1996. Print.

 

Luke Air Force Base

Sign at entrance of Luke Air Force Base (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

Planes from World War II on display at Luke Air Force Base (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

Apartments on the base: These are people who would be affected if the base closes (photo by Briana Tyson, April 2011)

 [address pending]

Luke Air Force Base is a major Air Force base located 30 miles North West of Central Phoenix near Glendale and Litchfield Park Arizona.  Luke Air Force Base’s original name was Litchfield Park Air Base.  They used the name Litchfield Park Air Base because Luke Air Force was being used in Pearl Harbor (Whitaker, 71). When Pearl Harbor changed their name to Naval Base commander, Lt. Col. Ennis C. Whitehead requested that Litchfield Park Air Base change their name to Luke Air Force Base after the first Aviator to receive the Medal of Honor, Lt. Frank Luke Jr. 

            During World War II Luke Air Force Base was the largest fighter training base in the Armed forces by graduating more than 12,000 pilots.  Among some of these men were Tuskegee Airmen who were trained in Alabama.  These men face and overcame prejudice and because of them the Air Force was able to be integrated.  One Tuskegee Airmen, Lincoln Ragsdale, mentioned he had a white roommate and when his roommate saw him he could not believe and said “who are you staying with nigger” (Whitaker, 78).  He mentioned that his roommate refused to stay in the room that night and complained to his superiors that he should not have to be with a black roommate.  They did not know they were part of the Truman integration experiment.  This is similar to the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957 where Little Rock was forced to integrate their high school.  The integration of the high school came with massive resistance in which troops had to escort the nine African American students just for their protection (Liberto, 240).  This is similar to what we discuss in class about segregation in which white people and African Americans do not mingle in the same space.  This is because whites were seen as superior and African Americans inferior in every way.  This same experience was happening with the Tuskegee Airmen at Luke Air Force Base because they had to endure humiliation and retaliation for integrating the military dorms.

However the base was deactivated in 1946 because the number of pilots graduating dropped to 299.   When the base was deactivated many white troops found Phoenix to be “the desert’s greatest oasis” (Whitaker, 72).  Black officers on the other hand did not have the same experience because “they had a hard time finding jobs because people would not hire black people (Whitaker, 72).  Phoenix was so bad for African Americans that they called it the Mississippi of the West (Whitaker, 78).When combat developed in Korean War in 1951, Luke Air Force base was reactivated as training for the U.S. Air Force. 

            In August 2006, Luke Air Force Base honored the Tuskegee Airmen by dedicating an Air park after them.  The 944th Fighter Wing, a reserve unit at the base, hosted the ceremony and showed off a mounted F-16 fighter-bomber it commissioned that is painted in the Tuskegee colors of yellow-stripe detailing and a red tail. There were 6 of the original Tuskegee airmen, who live in Arizona, who attended this ceremony to receive the medal.  One of the men mentioned that it was “a great honor to finally be recognized after all of these years, but was just sorry that one of them (Lincoln Ragsdale) could not be there to see the medal” (Kelly, 2006).  Lincoln Ragsdale was the first black pilot in the Phoenix area and was a major Civil Rights Activist in Arizona (Whitaker, 200). 

Today Luke Air Force Base is the largest and only active duty training Ground for F-16’s.  Although it is one of the largest training grounds for pilots, it has been threatened to be closed down due to Maricopa supervisors failing to observe the law that restricts residential development in high noise and dangerous areas.  There are currently 96 permits to build in these noisy dangerous areas and this could pose health risks.  Also, residents would be really close to noise level zones as well as accident potential zones such as bombs and ammunition.  The closing of Luke Air Force Base could cause much trouble because Luke Air Force Base is currently serving 9,200 active duty members and civilian employees as well as 800 military students and 6,600 retirees.  If Luke were to close today this would cause a big problem for these people most of which are depending on the military for survival.

- Briana Tyson, Brian Simpson, and Lysandra Whitlow

 

Works Cited

7, Feb. "Factsheets : Luke Air Force Base History." Luke Air Force Base - Home. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.luke.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5049>.

7, Feb. "Welcome to Luke Air Force Base." Military Newcomers. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.militarynewcomers.com/LUKE/resources/07_history.html>.

"The Issue Housing Around Luke Air Force Base." Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 17 Aug. 2008: V.4. Print.

Kelly, Charles. "Gold Standard: Tuskegee Airmen." Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 31 Mar. 2007: 16. Print.

"Welcome to Luke Air Force Base." Military Newcomers. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.militarynewcomers.com/LUKE/resources/15_local.html>.

Whitaker, M.C. 2000. The rise of black Phoenix: African American migration, settlement and Community development in Maricopa County, Arizona 1868-1930.  Journal of Negro History. 85: 197-209.

Liberato, Ana S. Q., Dana Fennell, and William L. Jeffries. "I Still Remember America: Senior African Americans Talk About Segregation." Journal of African American Studies 12.3 (2008): 229-42. Print.

Whitaker, Matthew C. Race Work: the Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2005. Print.  

Tempe Town Lake

54 West Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe

Tempe Town Lake is located at 54 West Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe Arizona just north of Arizona State University and west of Mill Avenue. The lake was originally a River that was Named Rio Salado by Father Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit Missionary because it’s abnormally salty for a fresh water channel. In the 17 and 1800's Rio Salado or Salt River was responsible for many floods and even deaths in the Tempe area. /It wasn’t until the river started to dry out that ideas about creating a lake began to arise and in 1966 Dean James Elmore of the College of Architecture at Arizona State University suggested his students create a plan that would productively utilize the dry river bed. The Rio Salado project was designed and consisted of a plan that would enable Tempe to create a lake on a section of Rio Salado to be used as a recreational area. The first controversy over the Tempe Town Lake was that residents in the area were concerned that creating a recreational area that would require approximately 980 million gallons of water was not the most productive way of using a resource that is very limited in such a dry region of the country. The water for Tempe Town lake was to be acquired through a program Known as the “Central Arizona Project which was designed to bring about 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water per year to Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties” (int). The second issue over the Rio Salado project was how Tempe was able to acquire such a significant amount of water for such a low price. These issues were responsible for much debate however on November 7, 1999 Tempe Town Lake officially opened after nearly 33 years of planning. /Today Tempe Town Lake is one of the most visited attractions in Arizona next to the states largest attractions like the Grand Canyon and Sedona. The Tempe town lake fact sheet states that the lake is an estimated two miles long, ranges from 800 to 1,200 feet wide and is an average of 12.5 feet deep (History). The lake has many attractions such as boating, kayaking, fishing and even sea do rentals. Along with its' on the water activities the lake also has volleyball courts, picnic areas, trails and the splash play ground. The final cost of completing the Tempe Town Lake was roughly forty five and a half million dollars, residents have mixed views on whether or not it was the proper use of funds; however one thing is for certain and that is that Tempe Town Lake is a great escape from the Arizona summers.

- Amanda Nishikubo and Daniel Munoz

References

 Central Arizona Project: Water for Arizona's Municipal and Agriculture Needs. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cap-az.com/>.

"History." Tempe in Touch. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.tempe.gov/lake/LakeHistory/HistoryFinance.htm>.

Chase Field

401 E. Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Chase Field is a sports venue to the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Team. Located on Jefferson Street and 7^th Street, Chase Field is the ideal example of the Phoenix sports experience. Architect Ellerbe Becket wanted to build a venue for Phoenix that can people can come and enjoy the game with family and friends. The then-named Bank One Ballpark is over 407 feet from home plate to center field.  It can sit a capacity of 49,033 people with a variety of dining options to choose from.  The main feature of this ballpark is the retractable roof.  The reason for the roof was to keep out the desert heat during summer baseball. On March 31, 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks made their debut before a packed house of over 3.6 million fans.

Before Chase Field existed, it was home to the second Chinatown was there from 1890-1960. The “first” Chinatown was established in Jerome, AZ, in the 1870s. Chinese immigrants came to Arizona, working as railroad workers.  They established the first Chinatown in downtown Phoenix where US Airways Arena stands today. All buildings have been torn down except for the Sun Mercantile Building. Also known as “Sun Merc”, the Sun Mercantile Building is a warehouse designed by E.W. Bacon and constructed by Wells & Son in 1929. In 1985, Sun Merc was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and became a historic landmark in 1987. In the mid 2000's, there were plans to build a new $200 million dollar luxury hotel and condominiums.  The hotel would sit on top of the Sun Mercantile Building, tearing off the roof and preserving only the base. The Asian American community and historical preservationists rallied together to display their disapproval of the plans. Despite their efforts, the city council did not give in and the project was given approval for construction. As a result, a lawsuit was filed against the city of Phoenix.  In fall of 2007 a judge ruled "the Phoenix City Council had improper talks with Sarver (the Developer) before it decided the fate of the warehouse on the hotel site." Plans to build the luxury hotel and condominiums were stopped. Today there is a Chinatown-themed shopping center called the Chinese Cultural Center. The architecture reflects traditional Chinese architecture. This center was opened in 1997 near the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

- Daniel Munoz and Amanda Nishikubo

References

Sun Mercantile Building. Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Mercantile_Building>

Chase Field: History, photos, and more the Arizona Diamondbacks ballpark, <http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/nl/ChaseField.htm>

Chase Field Information-Chase Field History. <http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ari/ballpark/information/index.jsp?content=chase_history>

Bracero Camp

E. Baseline Rd. and S. 32nd Street St., Phoenix

The Bracero program was a number of different laws and contracts between the United States and Mexico that helped the United States meet its high labor shortages as a result of world war two. The program allowed the United States to create approximately 4.6 million contracts and employee roughly four million workers from Mexico in order to perform manual labor. These individuals were taking undesirable jobs in undesirable locations and all for a fraction of what American citizens were being paid. This immigrant labor force was not only significantly cheaper but it was also very skilled when it came to agriculture, the majorities of these individuals were either farmers or had some type of experience in the field. The program initially started in the southwestern states such as California and Arizona but eventually spread throughout the United States. The program as expected increased the agricultural output and assisted farm owners by supplying a cheap and affective labor force that was utilized in all but a few states. As the war began to come to an end so did the bracero program. As soon as this labor force was no longer needed they were either deported or aggressively persuaded to move back to Mexico. “Ok, Boys, it’s time to go back” (Herrera-Sobek 48-49) this quote is what was told to a bracero who was forced to go back to Mexico after he had already established a new life in California. “Over the program’s 22-year life, more than four million Mexican nationals were legally contracted for work in the United States, some individuals returned several times on different contracts”(America). The end of the program was in 1965 after many extensions it was decided that the program was no longer going to run and plans for deportation and removal began. Arizona was one of the many states that took advantage of the increase in agricultural labor. There were bracero camps located throughout Arizona including the area that is today known as 32^nd street and Baseline. This specific camp is located approximately twenty minutes southwest of Arizona States Tempe campus. All of the Arizona camps where very similar in that the braceros stationed at these locations were responsible for repairing “irrigation, picking cotton, cucumbers, lemons, oranges and tomatoes” (Ignacio). During the programs time span the corner of baseline and 32^nd street was mostly comprised of braceros and migrant workers. Today there are three different gated communities in the area: Hunter Ridge, The Village at South Mountain and a new upper scale community known as the Dessert Rose. These communities have the luxury of having the canal flow right in front of their neighborhood with dual path walkways and it even has a Starbucks across street. When the area was considered undesirable the inhabitants were migrant workers and braceros, however, now that the location is being remolded it is experiencing larger influxes of homeowners with white collar jobs who desire upper scale housing which the area now provides.

- Daniel Munoz and Amanda Nishikubo

 

References

   Alvarez, Ignacio I. "Ignacio I. Alvarez." Interview. Bracero History Archive. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. <http://braceroarchive.org>.

   "America on the Move | Opportunity or Exploitation: The Bracero Program." National Museum of American History. Web. 05 Apr.

   "Bracero History Archive | Teaching." Bracero History Archive | Home. Web. 5 Apr. 2011. <http://braceroarchive.org/teaching>.

   "Braceros: The Story of a Union Organizer." David Bacon Photographs & Stories. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://dbacon.igc.org/TWC/b03_Organizer.htm>.

   "Chicanos and Mexican Americans." Latin American Studies. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/braceros.htm>.

   Herrera-Sobek, Maria. The Bracero Experience: Elitelore versus Folklore. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, University of California, 1979. Print.