The Greater Los Angeles Association was a 1920s civic-booster group of California, United States that promoted business interests in the area under the slogan "keep the white spot white".
The slogan referenced monthly maps published by the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce magazine ''Nation's Business'' that used different colors to indicate different levels of commercial activity—spots with good levels were colored white.
Organized with a great burst of energy in 1924, the group proper fizzled within a couple of years.
However, over time, their phrase ''the white spot of America'' became a general descriptor for the Los Angeles area, with its attendant racial and political insinuations. Originally intended to market the city's (and
Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler (May 17, 1864 – September 23, 1944) was an American newspaper publisher and investor.
Early life
Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire, the eldest of four siblings born to Emma Jane ( Little) and Moses Knight Chandle ...
's) aggressively "
open shop
An open shop is a place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union ( closed shop) as a condition of hiring or continued employment.
Open shop vs closed shop
The major difference between an open and closed ...
" approach to labor relations, it came to be applied by both proponents and detractors to policies like
racial covenants
A covenant, in its most general and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law, a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. Be ...
restricting housing.
Apparently, when questioned about police vice-protection rackets in the city, Mayor
Frank L. Shaw
Frank Lawrence Shaw (February 1, 1877 – January 24, 1958) was the first mayor of a major American city to be recalled from office, in 1938. He was also a member of the Los Angeles City Council and then the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor ...
replied that such a notion was ridiculous, as Los Angeles was the "white spot of the nation". (There was absolutely a police vice-protection racket in the city, with Mayor Shaw playing a central role.)
In the 1950s, LAPD Chief of Police
William H. Parker used the term when boasting about low crime rates.
References
{{reflist
1920s in Los Angeles
White nationalism in California