Jim Crow, Arizona

Racial and ethnic discrimination and segregation in the Arizona Territory and early Arizona statehood

Here I'm going to make a claim that some might consider a bit radical, but once you have read this article, I think it's a little bit hard to dispute. My claim is Arizona was in effect part of the Jim Crow South, of course not geographically speaking, but in terms of the severity of racial and ethnic segregation and the intensity of regimes of racialization and power structures throughout the period of Arizona territoriality and into early statehood until the 1960s and 70s. Patterns of discrimination and segregation and ethnic, racial, and religious power structures in Arizona are nearer those of the Jim Crow South. This is not widely known, even within the state of Arizona, because it is not taught in the education we receive on state history, not too surprisingly as we do receive that in the fourth or fifth grade, and then that's the only education we receive on state history, at least in my experience, in the Arizona public school system in the 2000s. And secondly, because when my parents were born in the early 60s, the population of Arizona was only something around a million, and you go back another few decades before that, there was only a few hundred thousand or go back even farther, only tens of thousands of people in the entire state. And just for a reference to scale, Arizona is approximately 80% of the size of the entire country of Germany. And then you're saying in the 1920s, the entire state had a population only less than 500,000. So it's unsurprising that not too much attention is paid to this nationally, given the situations that were happening in the much more densely populated states in the East and in the South.

So I will keep this brief here. And we'll just provide a broad overview of trends over time that I discovered through my own research while writing my undergraduate thesis at Northern Arizona University, where I got my bachelor's in history. And while working as the collections and research manager at the Mesa Historical Museum for approximately two years, where I did conduct research for that institution on the local municipal history, the history of Central Arizona, including on gendered issues, race and ethnicity, as well as some other topics.

In the early territorial period of Arizona, the population was, of course, primarily indigenous communities, as well as in southern Arizona there was Hispanic populations, given that the area was actually directly colonized by the Spanish Empire in the 1600s and 1700s, including the building of missions. And Anglo-Americans, white Americans from the East and Europeans, unaffiliated with the Spanish Empire, began arriving in 1820s and 30s, and of course that very much intensified once the area was transferred from Mexico to the United States in the 1840s and 50s. And from this initial period, when white Americans and Europeans began arriving from the East and moving into the existing communities, such as Tucson, which were predominantly Hispanic and native, there was actually, from my research, a fairly high degree of egalitarianism and cooperation between these groups, which is essentially a result of the necessity of the sparse population, harsh living conditions in the desert environment, and the ongoing low-grade warfare between the Hispanic residents, some certain native nations that were allied with them or lived in close proximity to them, and other native nations, primarily Athabascan groups such as the Apache. And especially this conflict necessitated essentially military alliance and cooperation between non-Apache ethnic groups within Arizona.

After the arrival of the railroad in southern Arizona, especially Tucson, in the 1870s, that radically shifted the political, cultural, and economic landscape of southern Arizona. Prior to that time, all those connections had primarily been with northern Mexico based on networks going back to the Spanish Empire. But after the arrival of the railroad, connections shifted to be primarily to other parts of the recently expanded United States, accompanied by dramatic increases in population coming from those areas as well, shifting the demographics of the state from a Native and Hispanic majority to, within a few decades, a large white majority. And during this shift, these incoming people brought in new trends from the outside, such as Jim Crow-like discrimination, which was developing in the Reconstruction and post-Civil War South.

So by the 1890s, you began to see much starker segregation and separation between the different communities within the state, especially the by far two largest groups being the Hispanic community and the white or Anglo-American community. And you also began to see a growing presence of Black folks and Black Americans as well as Jewish Americans and immigration coming in from Asia, particularly China and Japan. Although it is important to note that the actual number of immigrants arriving from Asia remained quite small well into the 20th century, these populations were present and important to note for a point that will come up shortly.

Now I will get into the meat of things and talk about various examples of why I say the social and legal condition of discrimination and segregation within the Arizona Territory and the early statehood period between approximately the 1880s and 1960s was as severe as those in the Jim Crow South.

First: Miscegenation Laws
Miscegenation laws refer to laws that ban marriage between what were then legally classified racialized groups, such as Black, White, Indigenous, and Asian. People from these groups were legally barred from marrying one another. Hispanic persons, Mexican persons, occupied an ambiguous position, not being legally defined as a racialized category but generally being classified as White. There was intermarriage then between the Hispanic community and other communities, which was allowed under these racist laws at the time.

Second: Segregated Institutions
Segregated neighborhoods, schools, movie theaters, and swimming pools all existed in Arizona. For example, Phoenix had a segregated all-Black high school that is now a cultural center and museum. The city of Mesa, where I worked as a historian, had a segregated neighborhood which was the only place where Hispanic and Black residents were able to reside for many decades. Many businesses in Arizona had segregated seating. Hispanic persons were sometimes included in the White category and could legally occupy those spaces, while Black and Asian Americans were barred.

Third: The Case of Bisbee
Bisbee was a mining town and a “sundown town,” where only white residents were allowed after dark. It explicitly called itself a “white man’s camp.” It had a chapter of an anti-Chinese immigrant organization. In 1917, during the Bisbee Deportation, over 1,000 residents—primarily Hispanic and Southern and Eastern European—were rounded up and forcibly deported by train to New Mexico during a labor dispute. This episode underscores that discrimination extended even between different white ethnic groups and shows how deep these divisions ran.

Four: Sundown in Tempe

Another clear example of Arizona’s history of racial exclusion is the city of Tempe, which operated as a sundown town well into the mid-20th century. For context, Tempe is home to Arizona State University. One of the largest universities in the United States, and one of only 3 public universities in Arizona. Black residents were not allowed to live in Tempe and were instead required to reside in nearby areas like South Phoenix. According to historical accounts, Black workers were bussed in during the day to clean houses or work in local businesses, but were forced to leave by nightfall. This exclusionary practice was not only socially enforced but supported by discriminatory housing policies and informal policing that prevented Black families from settling in the area. Tempe’s own Human Relations Commission formally acknowledged this history in 2021, including efforts to educate the public about the city's segregated past. These policies contributed to the long-term demographic and economic isolation of Black Arizonans and are part of the larger pattern of Jim Crow–era segregation that existed across the state.

Why This Matters
This history is important for all Arizona residents to understand. Arizona is no longer a small backwater territory—it is home to one of the largest and fastest-growing metro areas in the country. Its economic and political influence is increasing. I believe it is important to understand the historical power structures that still shape our neighborhoods. For example, when I lived in south-central Phoenix, it remained one of the few predominantly Black neighborhoods in the state, a legacy of laws that restricted Black and Hispanic residents from living north of the Salt River.

Understanding history isn’t just about dark chapters. Phoenix, for example, sits atop an ancient canal network built by the Hohokam civilization, whose legacy still shapes Central Arizona’s landscape today. Arizona’s history spans thousands of years, with deep roots in Indigenous, Mexican, Spanish, and now American civilization.

Further, Arizona is no longer on the periphery of empire. Phoenix is now one of the largest metro areas in the United States. Arizona as a whole has become far more important to the national political scene in recent years, as it has become a swing state. Almost 8 million people call our state home, and that number continues only to rise fast. It is vital that we understand the forces that shaped this landscape as it becomes home to ever more people and ever more important to the national economic, social, and political landscape. 

And while laws like SB 1070 in the 2010s may have continued that legacy of exclusion for many Latinos, there are also hopeful trends. In Tucson, downtown revitalization efforts are reclaiming the city’s Mexican identity. In Mesa, the city has officially designated an Asian District that began organically and has now become a hub of visibility and opportunity for that community.

Arizona has come a long way, but we still carry the echoes of our past.

References:

• Hohokam Canals: Hohokam Canals: Ingenious Engineering and Lasting Impact. Troy Valdez. https://saltriverstories.org/items/show/336

• George Washington Carver High School (Phoenix): George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. https://carveraz.org/history/
  
  

• Anti-miscegenation laws in Arizona: Hardaway, R. D. (1986). UNLAWFUL LOVE: A History of Arizona’s Miscegenation Law. The Journal of Arizona History, 27(4), 377–390. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41859700
  
  

• SB 1070 (Arizona): Arizona’s “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” 

• Bisbee Deportation of 1917: https://lib.arizona.edu/about/events/remembering-bisbee-deportation-1917

• Downtown Tempe Authority. (2024, February 6). Black History Month in Tempe. Downtown Tempe. https://www.downtowntempe.com/post/black-history-month-in-tempe 

• Discrimination in Arizona History: 

  1. https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/the-untold-segregation-story-arizona/75-49177538

  2. A Brief History of Housing Policy and Discrimination in Arizona. https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz841/files/a-brief-history-of-housing-policy-and-discrimination-in-arizona-nov-2021.pdf

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