Challenging codes in ‘the happiest place on earth’

Abstract

This article examines residents’ participation in local politics following the fatal shooting of two Latino men by the police in June 2012 in the city of Anaheim in Southern California. The shootings led to protests and conflicts with the police. Anaheim is the home of Disneyland. Once a suburban White town, it is now 53% Latino and about 15% Asian. The article explores the number of ways in which the residents of Anaheim attempt to ameliorate racial inequalities and make Anaheim a fairer place. The article discusses various modes of activism, including a community group comprising mothers, website activism, a Facebook group, a coalition aiming to ‘takebackanaheim’ and participation on individual levels. Recent scholarship on social movements has argued that there has been a shift towards a ‘post-material’ politics, marked by a diminished sense of the personal relevance of government and growing dissatisfaction with the working of democratic process. Empirical work in this context shows that for Anaheim residents, the issue of local government became very significant. Anaheim residents protested in fragmented and autonomous ways and used newer methods of activism, but they invoked shared ideologies about racial and economic inequalities as opposed to identity and personal politics.