In California, between 1933 and 1939, Filipino, Japanese and Mexican farm workers engaged in far-reaching labor strikes. In this article, I argue that the practice of White supremacy prevented interracial farm labor unionism via the creation of a racial hierarchy that aligned Japanese, Mexicans and Filipinos into specific positions. Previous scholarship deemphasizes the roles of race and racism in analysis of farm worker mobilization. I focus upon four key actors, which actively maintained the hierarchy: landowners, the state, organized labor, and the White public.
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