“There’s only the American Dream and the California dream.”
—Gov. Gavin Newsom
This year marks the 175th anniversary of California’s admission to the U.S. as the 31st state. But statehood wasn’t the beginning of the story. Celebrating California is a collection of 175 stories that highlight California’s unique history and role in the world. The goal is to offer examples of California’s unique character and that of its residents, past and present. That means among the good there will be some bad. For every success story, there’s a failure, a tragedy, an injustice. It’s from these mistakes that we learn and grow stronger together. Share a story with us that helps define what California means to you.
Herbert Hoover (California State Library Image) President Herbert Hoover issues Proclamation 2028 preserving some 2 million acres of “scenic, scientific…
In September 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation (AB 2022; Chapt. 479, Stats of 2022) which requires the term "squaw"…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apBWI6xrbLY In 1961, the Beach Boys receive their first paycheck for playing three songs at the Richie Valens Memorial Concert…
Segregation is prohibited in California schools when a federal judge agrees with Gonzalo and Felicita Mendez that their daughter, Sylvia,…
Ettore Steccone, 26, immigrates to America in 1922 seeking his fortune. He becomes a window cleaner in Oakland. Steccone is…
President Polk (Library of Congress) When President James K. Polk receives news that his emissary has signed the Treaty of…
Laura de Force Gordon gives the first speech on suffrage in California at San Francisco’s Platt Hall on February 19,…
Invitation to the Opening of the San Francisco Bay Bridge In 1936, California opens what’s then the longest bridge in…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNrNs1KpN6c In 1890, the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club draws 2,000 locals for an event it sponsors to promote the city’s…
Using a Chinese-made Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, 24-year-old Patrick Edward Purdy kills five children and wounds 29 other students and…