Hattie McDaniel and the Fight for Housing Justice in Los Angeles History 1945
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 28
Black LA is not just a vibe — it’s a whole legacy. From Hollywood’s first Black stars to today’s culture-shifting creatives, we’ve been shaping the soul of this city since day one. Whether you’re born here, transplanted, or just passing through,
Hattie McDaniel Made History Here in Los Angeles
Did you know the first Black person to win an Oscar lived right here in LA? Hattie McDaniel won for Gone with the Wind in 1940 — and even though she made history, she wasn’t allowed to sit with her white co-stars at the ceremony. Her home in West Adams is now a landmark of resilience.
Born in Kansas in 1895, McDaniel began her career in vaudeville and then Hollywood. She starred in over 300 films, though often typecast in domestic roles, including maids.
Her most famous role was "Mammy" in "Gone with the Wind," which earned her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1939, a historic achievement for African Americans.
Despite the award, she faced discrimination in Hollywood, even being seated at a separate table at the Academy Awards ceremony due to a "whites-only" policy at the hotel.
Hattie McDaniel vs. Housing Discrimination in Los Angeles
In the 1940s, Hattie McDaniel moved into Sugar Hill, a wealthy section of the West Adams neighborhood in Los Angeles — a time when Black people were legally barred from living in many white-only areas due to racially restrictive covenants written into property deeds.
The "Sugar Hill" She fought back.
White residents in Sugar Hill tried to evict Hattie and her Black neighbors, using these racist covenants as the basis for a lawsuit. Hattie and other Black homeowners in the area formed a legal defense and argued that these covenants violated their constitutional rights.
This battle became known as the “Sugar Hill Case.” Civil Rights and Fair Housing
It was one of the earliest and most high-profile challenges to housing discrimination in LA. In 1945, McDaniel became involved in a case to desegregate housing in Los Angeles's West Adams Heights neighborhood. White residents attempted to use restrictive housing covenants to force Black residents, including McDaniel, out of their homes. McDaniel led the fight against these covenants, organizing neighbors and hosting meetings in her home.
As mentioned, in 1945, Black homeowners in West Adams Heights—including Oscar-winner Hattie McDaniel—defied racist covenants in what became known as the Sugar Hill case.
Today, Black Angelinos face a new battle: surging housing costs and a homelessness emergency under the mayoralty of Karen Bass. This article traces the legacy — and stakes — of that fight for today’s generation.
The Current Housing Crisis: More Than Just Prices
Fast-forward to today: Los Angeles faces a housing crisis on multiple fronts, and Black Angelinos are disproportionately affected.
L.A. households face median home prices well above $900,000, while many Black households earn far less than white households.
The city’s proposed budget under Mayor Karen Bass calls for a drop in city-financed new affordable housing units by nearly 80% (from 770 to ~160 units) amid a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall.
Most renters now spend more than 30% of their income on housing— a threshold the federal government defines as “cost-burdened.”
These dynamics mean that Black families, already positioned historically outside the key wealth-building mechanism of home-equity, are faced with shrinking opportunity. The historical fight for the right to stay has metamorphosed into a fight for the right to afford to stay.
Connecting the Past & the Present: What the Legacy Teaches Us
The Sugar Hill case teaches two key lessons:
First: legal access (the breaking of covenants) is necessary but not sufficient — Black homeowners still faced (and face) new systems of exclusion (freeway construction, red-lining, predatory lending).
Second: home-ownership is about more than a house — it’s about community, culture, legacy and belonging. That’s why when homes vanish or are financially out-of-reach, whole cultures are under threat.
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