For 100 years, the ACLU of Southern California has fought to defend and advance civil liberties in the southland. Curated in partnership with the Los Angeles Review of Books, our 2023 Reading Guide is a reflection of our region’s rich literary roots, featuring contemporary California authors whose works inform our mission and challenge us to realize a more just and equitable future.

Download the 2023 aclu socal summer reading guide  

FEATURED BOOK

Your House Will Pay: A Novel by Steph Cha

This suspenseful novel explores the painful legacy of the 1992 L.A. uprising and the complex intersections of race, family and justice. Inspired by true events, the story follows two families—one Korean-American, one African-American—whose lives become intertwined, forcing them to confront the past and search for redemption in the present.

POETRY

Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora

Javier Zamora was nine years old when he traveled unaccompanied from El Salvador to the United States to be reunited with his parents. His poetry debut humanizes the highly-charged politics and rhetoric of border crossing.

Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems by Wanda Coleman, edited by Terrance Hayes

Born in Watts in 1946, Wanda Coleman became one of the most influential voices in American poetry. This collection showcases both her literary prowess and her enduring commitment to the themes of race, feminism and L.A.

ESSAY COLLECTIONS

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

Activist Alice Wong brings together this galvanizing collection exploring the experiences, struggles and triumphs of disabled people, shedding light on their perspectives and advocating for disability rights.

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong provides a boldly honest examination of the complexities of race, identity and belonging— exposing truths about the myriad stereotypes and microaggressions that Asian Americans face.

MEMOIR

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

In this genre-bending memoir, Nelson chronicles her pregnancy and relationship with her partner, the gender-fluid artist Harry Dodge, grappling with what it means to be a family when patriarchy still defines our society’s views of partnership and motherhood.

QUEER IMMIGRANT INTERSECTIONS

Afterparties: Stories by Anthony Veasna So

Set among Cambodian Americans in the Central Valley, the stories in this acclaimed collection are both absurdly comical and tenderhearted, offering insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities.

Brown and Gay in LA: The Lives of Immigrant Sons by Anthony Christian Ocampo

Ocampo’s book explores the intersection of queer identity and the immigrant family experience—centering stories from interviews of over 60 queer Filipinos and Latinos in L.A., who are often sidelined from the mainstream narrative of queer life.

YOUNG READERS

The Proudest Color by Sheila Modir and Jeffrey Kashou 

Zahra sees the world in vivid colors. When schoolmates point out the color of her skin, she doesn’t know how to feel at first, but her mother tells her to feel proud. Authored by a child psychologist and family therapist duo, this children’s book is a timely and sensitive introduction to race, racism and racial identity.

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

Set in Tehran and Los Angeles, this moving and ultimately life-affirming young adult story follows three generations of boys in the same Iranian-American family—exploring racism, homophobia, filial duty, intergenerational trauma and love.

SYSTEMIC INJUSTICE

Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California by Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore investigates the rise of mass incarceration in California—noted as “the biggest prison building project in the history of the world."

Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable by Joanna Schwartz

A leading policing scholar explains how the courts use doctrines like qualified immunity to shield police from accountability, making it nearly impossible for victims of police violence and misconduct to obtain justice.

REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE

Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood by Michele Goodwin

UC Irvine Law Professor Michele Goodwin describes the ways states surveil and criminalize pregnancy—with horrific results that most often affect poor women and women of color—a fact made even more chilling in our post-Dobbs era.

The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied— an Abortion by Diana Greene Foster

Anti-abortion extremists routinely claim that abortion is physically risky and leads to depression and remorse. This landmark study by a UCSF demographer, documenting the impacts of abortion access and denial on women across the U.S., proves the opposite to be true.

SOCAL HISTORY

Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America by Steven J. Ross

This Pulitzer finalist documents how a daring group of Jewish activists infiltrated Nazi groups in L.A. to foil their plans to sabotage Hollywood, attack California military installations and murder prominent Jewish figures.

Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, & Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernandez

The dramatic story of the magonistas, migrant rebels who sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution from the U.S. and were hunted across the country by U.S. authorities for the threat they posed to Anglo-American power.

Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties by Mike Davis and Jon Wiener

Late urban theorist Mike Davis and historian Jon Wiener show how the civil rights, anti-war, feminist, LGBTQ and Black Panther movements converged to make 1960s L.A. a hotbed of radical activism and social change.

We Are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Adkins and William J. Bauer Jr.

Two Native writers center the history of California around the Indigenous people who shaped it— shedding light on how colonialism, violence and dispossession have impacted Native communities while highlighting their ongoing resilience and resistance.

A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community by Natalia Molina

Historian Natalia Molina explores the history of the Nayarit, the popular Echo Park restaurant founded by her grandmother in 1951. Though it was a local landmark popular with Hollywood stars, Molina shows how the Nayarit was first and foremost a place where L.A.’s Mexican community could find—and create—a sense of belonging. 

NOVELS

The Sellout: A Novel by Paul Beatty

This provocative satire— winner of the Man Booker Prize—tells the story of the disaffected son of a prominent Black sociologist who decides to put his Southern California town on the map by reinstituting slavery and segregation.

The Other Americans: A Novel by Lila Lalami

Set in a small California desert town after the hit-and-run death of a Moroccan immigrant, this National Book Award finalist is at once a family saga, a murder mystery and a love story informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture.

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka 

Otsuka’s poignant novel follows the internment of a Japanese-American family during World War II, using the perspectives of five different family members to illuminate a shameful episode in American history.

There, There: A Novel by Tommy Orange 

This moving Pulitzer Prize finalist follows twelve characters from Native communities— all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, and all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.

Find our reading guide at participating bookstores throughout Southern California including: Chevalier Books, Salt Eaters Bookshop, The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs, Skylight Books and Vroman's Bookstore.

Download the 2023 aclu socal summer reading guide  

When it comes to creating a more just and inclusive society, California is a leader in many ways. Our state became the first to end the collection of fees in the criminal legal system and guarantee health care for all immigrants. Bold and expansive legislation and legal advocacy are not new for the Golden State, where California has long been known as a powerhouse and incubator for first-of-its-kind legislation and legal precedents.  

As the ACLU SoCal celebrates its centennial year, we look back at the stories of Californians who fought alongside us to make California a better place for all. Their stories and courageous actions have paved the way for progress not only here but across the country.  

Before Roe v. Wade, there was People v. Belous... 

Years before the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Roe v. Wade, the California Supreme Court considered the abortion rights case of People v. Belous in 1969. The ACLU SoCal filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the defendant, Dr. Leon Belous, arguing that it was unconstitutional to penalize him for connecting a woman seeking to end her pregnancy with another person willing to perform an abortion. The brief argued that banning abortion violated not only privacy rights, but also equal protection guarantees. It noted the ban’s impact on women – especially for poor women and women of color – who were far less likely to be able to access one of the ban’s exceptions or travel outside California to escape it.  

In 1969, our state’s highest court ruled in favor of Dr. Belous, marking the first time a U.S. court had found that the right to privacy encompassed abortion rights. This California decision was then cited in the Roe v. Wade opinion that protected abortion rights nationwide from 1973 to 2022.  

Today, we’re advocating for legislation to block unconstitutional reverse demands, so that individuals can’t be identified, and targeted by law enforcement simply because they spent time at a sensitive location like an abortion clinic. We are committed more than ever to fight for reproductive justice – including access to safe and legal abortions.  

Advancing the safety and rights of LGBTQ people in all spaces 

There are approximately 14,000 people detained in Los Angeles County jails – making it the largest and most expensive jail system and most expensive in the nation. While the ACLU SoCal fights for the prevention of incarceration, we also advocate for the rights of people currently incarcerated. This includes the LGBTQ community. 

In the 1980s, the ACLU SoCal filed a class action lawsuit, Robertson v. Block, which resulted in a historic court-approved settlement committing the L.A. Sheriff’s Department to take specific measures to protect gay people in its custody. But LGBTQ people continue to be targeted for violence and harrassment in the LA County jails. 

For decades, the ACLU SoCal advocates have contributed to the introduction and passage of state-level bills addressing gender, sexuality, and reproductive justice issues behind bars. In 2020, we helped pass Senate Bill (SB) 132, seeking to allow transgender people to be housed within state prisons in accordance with their own perception of health and safety. 

Such policies protect the rights and dignity of thousands of incarcerated individuals and have inspired similar progress in other jurisdictions.  

As advocates, we know our work doesn’t stop at passing legislation. Today, our efforts also involve full policy implementation in California. This includes fighting for investment in mental health care, drug treatment, and other community-based programs to prevent incarceration. 

The ACLU SoCal has also fought for the rights of LGBTQ people in the military.  

In the late 1970s, the ACLU SoCal filed a lawsuit on behalf of Joanna Clark, who had been discharged from the U.S. Army because of her transgender identity – even though the Army knew she was trans when recruiting her. Clark ultimately settled her case for $25,000 and an honorable discharge. This case represented the first known win by a transgender enlistee in legal action against the U.S. military. 

We’re proud to work with the LGBTQ community and fight for their right to feel safe in all spaces. 

Fighting for the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS 

At a time when our country was beginning to grapple with the HIV and AIDS epidemic, the ACLU SoCal strove to center the experiences and needs of people living with HIV and AIDS.   

In the mid-1980s, we represented Ryan Thomas, a boy living with AIDS who was blocked from attending kindergarten in San Luis Obispo County based on fears that others could get HIV from him. A federal district court held that excluding Ryan from public school because of his HIV status violated the Rehabilitation Act, which bars discrimination against people with disabilities in federally-funded programs. It noted that, contrary to the school district’s claims, there was no medical evidence that Ryan could transmit HIV by biting another student.  

That case set an example for the rest of the country, including Indiana, where Ryan White who was fighting a similar battle.  

In 1992, we represented Sal Fuentes, a Ventura County man who sought medical care for an injury at an urgent care clinic but was turned away because of his HIV status. The clinic eventually agreed to compensate Fuentes for the harm he suffered. Fuentes’s case helped medical professionals start to understand that rather than discriminate to try to protect themselves from HIV exposure, they needed to use “universal precautions” like gloves when treating all patients. This case represented one of the first successful uses of the Americans with Disabilities Act to address HIV discrimination.  

In 2017, ACLU SoCal advocates worked in coalition to help pass SB 239, which modernized California laws that had previously criminalized and stigmatized people living with HIV. That successful campaign has served as a model for advocates in other states. 

Leading by example is the California way, as shown by the stories of people like Dr. Belous who fought for abortion rights, Joanna Clark who fought for LGBTQ rights, and Ryan Thomas who fought for the rights of people living with HIV. They remind us that change doesn’t happen overnight, but when we work together, change is possible – especially in California — and we should be so proud. 

This year, the ACLU SoCal celebrates 100 years of changemaking. We look forward to continuing to lead the way, the California way.  

This article is part of the ACLU SoCal's centennial series, exploring the affiliate's long and evolving work and impact in the southland. The series lifts historic milestones and facts documented in the "Open Forum," the ACLU SoCal's newsletter published from 1924 to 2004. This year, in partnership with the California Historical Society, the ACLU SoCal has published and digitized the "Open Forum" in its entirety. Explore the archives and read more about how the ACLU SoCal fought for a more just and inclusive California.