'Racist Trees' Uncovers Little Known History of Palm Springs' Black Community

The California Report Magazine

Today Palm Springs is known for mid-century modern architecture and queer-friendly culture. But a new documentary on PBS's Independent Lens explores the history of racist housing practices in the city that effectively hid a black neigborhood behind a wall of trees. “Racist Trees” covers the fight to remove those trees decades after they were planted, and asks the question: 'Who takes responsibility for the wrongdoing of the past?' Directors Sara Newens and Mina T. Son join Sasha Khokha to talk about the film.

Plus we visit San Francisco's Prelinger Library, a treasure trove of ephemera from books of soil samples to zines. In the 1990s, libraries started to become digital and began clearing out their catalogs. A network of like-minded librarians brought the “discards” to Rick and Megan Prelinger’s attention. The husband and wife, already collectors of print and text items, opened their library in 2004 and say 'it's available to any and everyone who believes our past can pave a path to a better future.'

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