"the Little Fuehrer Invades Los Angeles": The Emergence of a Black-Jewish Coalition After World war II‪.‬

The preponderance of the literature exploring the history of black-Jewish relations focuses on New York City. Indeed, an overwhelming number of the writers who have examined relations between the two groups do not acknowledge that their analyses derive exclusively from the example of New York. (1) But were one to examine the interactions between black and Jewish communities in other settings, strikingly different historical accounts might well emerge. Such is the case in the example presented here. After World War II, blacks and Jews in Los Angeles proved able to cooperate in struggling against racism and antisemitism, successfully developing a citywide, biracial (sometimes multiracial) coalition to that end. For Jews, that they were members of a community that had much in common with people of color reduced any reluctance to participate in coalitions formed with blacks that may have existed. For blacks, the postwar period once and for all provided proof of the power of unity, not only within the black community but with other groups as well. And for both groups, the struggle specifically against the doctrines of white supremacy and antisemitism espoused in Los Angeles by Gerald L.K. Smith led to recognition of the value of constructing coalitions and struggling jointly in areas of common interest.