“Previously posted at the FB group, “50 Phil Ochs Fans Can’t Be Wrong.” This slideshow is kind of the confluence of two things: my Phil Ochs’ play project, and reading William Deverell’s Whitewashed Adobe: The Rise of Los Angeles and the Remaking of Its Mexican Past. Phil spent several years in Los Angeles in the late 60’s and early 70’s, made some good friends there, but began to increasingly fall apart as the songs came with more and more difficulty, and the country went from Johnson, to Nixon, to Nixon redux . Deverell’s book is actually examining an earlier period, a world of land grants, zoning restrictions, and ethnic cleansing in the name of public health and hygiene. Although I was aware of some of the events Deverell documents, the prevalence and ruthlessness of Anglo Los Angelenos was something of a surprise. As a result, the slideshow is perhaps more damning even than Phil’s song is. The song is not actually part of the play (and probably won’t be), but I couldn’t help but notice that Deverell’s book and Phil’s peppy tune were exploring the same thing, looking at how some of the most cherished beliefs of nineteenth and twentieth century boosters and believers in progress ultimately painted themselves into a corner, a corner that came to have very well policed borders, borders that occasionally boiled over into discontent and violence. Anyway, I hope you like it or—failing that—it is at least thought-provoking.