January 20, 2024
FILM: RACIST TREES
DIRECTED BY: SARA NEWENS & MINA T. SON
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Those who know me personally are aware that I spend a LOT of my time these days in Palm Springs, California. That’s where I am right now as I write this. It’s a beautiful city ninety minutes to three hours southeast of Los Angeles (depending on traffic) in the desert with sweeping views of mountains, palm trees, and blue skies. Many Hollywood celebrities have had homes in the area including Barry Manilow, Suzanne Somers, Cary Grant, and Ray Bradbury. (I’ve stayed in homes once owned by each of the latter two.) There are even street names honoring Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Gerald Ford, Gene Autry, Dean Martin, and Monty Hall. Yes, this has been a valley for the White elite. However, it sits on tribal reservation land and has its own dark history associated with Black and Latino communities.
The documentary Racist Trees covers a topic I’d heard almost nothing about in the many years I’ve been coming here. It concerns a neighborhood that was established in the 1950s by a well-known local Black influencer named Lawrence Crossley. As the film tells it, Blacks once came to Palm Springs to work as cooks and maids back when the White rich elite seemed to have ruled the town. Crossley set up this particular neighborhood as one where Blacks could live in affordable homes with a positive sense of community. All of this history is recounted throughout the film. The larger focus though is on a set of locally uncharacteristic trees that bordered many of the properties in this community once called Crossley Gardens.
The film explores the controversy surrounding these trees. Were they planted to segregate the Black community? Were they put there as a barrier to those who developed a golf course on the adjacent property? After complaints about the large, non-native Tamarisk trees keeping the area’s residents from having mountain views, creating unsightly tree debris behind their homes and housing rodents, the locals began an effort a few years back to have the trees taken down. This led to a series of debates as to why they were put there in the first place and why the city hadn’t taken them down earlier. The issue was given national attention on Fox News, labeling this a case of “racist trees.”
Filmmakers Sara Newens and Mina T. Son do an excellent job interviewing residents, city council members, and mayors about the issue. They record hearings and votes on the matter. Perhaps most interesting though is the history the film provides, through archival footage, promotional pieces, and testimonies, not only about the town itself but more importantly about the racial issues that have been a part of the local history that often go largely unseen by visitors in town to golf, shop, and gawk at the multi-million dollar homes throughout the city. There’s also a disturbingly segment of the film that explores Black homes being burned and forced out of an area near the city’s downtown, known as Section 14, several decades ago.
Like any decent sized city, Palm Springs has its issues. (The homeless population seems to be growing every year.) However, it is widely seen as a pleasant getaway by a mostly White set of vacationers and snowbirds. The film provides a very different and eye-opening perspective on the city and how it reflects issues that have been plaguing the country for more than a century. Kudos should be given to the filmmakers for bringing this story to the rest of us. Palm Springs isn’t just some beautiful utopian setting, but it is an American city that, like many others, is home to racial divisions they are still trying to get figured out.
Racist Trees will debut on January 22nd on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS series.
FILM: RACIST TREES
DIRECTED BY: SARA NEWENS & MINA T. SON
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Those who know me personally are aware that I spend a LOT of my time these days in Palm Springs, California. That’s where I am right now as I write this. It’s a beautiful city ninety minutes to three hours southeast of Los Angeles (depending on traffic) in the desert with sweeping views of mountains, palm trees, and blue skies. Many Hollywood celebrities have had homes in the area including Barry Manilow, Suzanne Somers, Cary Grant, and Ray Bradbury. (I’ve stayed in homes once owned by each of the latter two.) There are even street names honoring Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Gerald Ford, Gene Autry, Dean Martin, and Monty Hall. Yes, this has been a valley for the White elite. However, it sits on tribal reservation land and has its own dark history associated with Black and Latino communities.
The documentary Racist Trees covers a topic I’d heard almost nothing about in the many years I’ve been coming here. It concerns a neighborhood that was established in the 1950s by a well-known local Black influencer named Lawrence Crossley. As the film tells it, Blacks once came to Palm Springs to work as cooks and maids back when the White rich elite seemed to have ruled the town. Crossley set up this particular neighborhood as one where Blacks could live in affordable homes with a positive sense of community. All of this history is recounted throughout the film. The larger focus though is on a set of locally uncharacteristic trees that bordered many of the properties in this community once called Crossley Gardens.
The film explores the controversy surrounding these trees. Were they planted to segregate the Black community? Were they put there as a barrier to those who developed a golf course on the adjacent property? After complaints about the large, non-native Tamarisk trees keeping the area’s residents from having mountain views, creating unsightly tree debris behind their homes and housing rodents, the locals began an effort a few years back to have the trees taken down. This led to a series of debates as to why they were put there in the first place and why the city hadn’t taken them down earlier. The issue was given national attention on Fox News, labeling this a case of “racist trees.”
Filmmakers Sara Newens and Mina T. Son do an excellent job interviewing residents, city council members, and mayors about the issue. They record hearings and votes on the matter. Perhaps most interesting though is the history the film provides, through archival footage, promotional pieces, and testimonies, not only about the town itself but more importantly about the racial issues that have been a part of the local history that often go largely unseen by visitors in town to golf, shop, and gawk at the multi-million dollar homes throughout the city. There’s also a disturbingly segment of the film that explores Black homes being burned and forced out of an area near the city’s downtown, known as Section 14, several decades ago.
Like any decent sized city, Palm Springs has its issues. (The homeless population seems to be growing every year.) However, it is widely seen as a pleasant getaway by a mostly White set of vacationers and snowbirds. The film provides a very different and eye-opening perspective on the city and how it reflects issues that have been plaguing the country for more than a century. Kudos should be given to the filmmakers for bringing this story to the rest of us. Palm Springs isn’t just some beautiful utopian setting, but it is an American city that, like many others, is home to racial divisions they are still trying to get figured out.
Racist Trees will debut on January 22nd on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS series.