The
California Club, located in downtown, was one of the foremost exclusionary
clubs in the region. Founded in 1887, the Club has historically
offered dining, recreational and meeting facilities to its members.
Originally open to all men, it became increasingly discriminatory
in the 1920s so that it excluded all women, people of color, and
Jews. In 1987 the Los Angeles City Council made it illegal for such
clubs to discriminate. Amazingly, the California Club opposed the
new ordinance, and a segment of the membership waged a campaign
to circumvent it, in order to keep women and Blacks out of the Club.
After a tense battle, the Club eventually decided to adhere to the
new ordinance. Interestingly, in 2002 when asked about this history,
Club representatives denied that it had ever been exclusionary.
In fact, when asked about the exclusion of women, a Club employee
responded that it was not really exclusionary, as “women would
want to be in their spaces.” |
