1. Bill Boyarsky, "The Big Sit-In," Feb. 1965, Frontier: The Voice of the New West , p. 5. Much of this section is based on his colorful and insightful scene-setter on the 1965 legislative session. [BACK]

2. Silver vs. Jordan , 241 F. Supp. 576 (1965). [BACK]

3. John Owens, Edmond Costantini, and Louis F. Weschler, California Politics and Parties , pp. 290-294. [BACK]

4. Population estimates, California State Department of Finance, July 1, 1964. [BACK]

5. California Legislature at Sacramento , 1965 (Sacramento: California Legislature, 1965). The black Assembly members were Willie Brown, Mervyn Dymally, Douglas Ferrell, and Byron Rumford. The lone woman was Pauline Davis. [BACK]

6. Owens et al., California Politics and Parties , pp. 290-291. [BACK]

7. "Willie Brown Has Fears for His Job," San Francisco Chronicle , Jan. 21, 1965. [BACK]

8. Virna Canson, interview, Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 11, 1993. [BACK]

9. Michael Harris, "Willie Brown 'Safe'—Burton's Report," San Francisco Chronicle , Feb. 13, 1965. [BACK]

10. Interviews, Willie Brown, San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 17, 1994; John Burton, Sacramento, Calif., Apr. 26, 1993. [BACK]

11. George Thomas, Mr. Speaker , p. 67. The Speaker of the House of Commons wrote of taking an "uneasy" trip to the Communist bloc arranged by Zilliacus in 1948. [BACK]

12. No newspaper quoted the telegram in full, nor could a copy of the telegram be located. John Burton's copy, along with his other early legislative records, was destroyed in a fire. It is pieced together here from fragmented quotes in the following newspaper stories: "Viet Appeal by Bay Area Legislators," San Francisco Chronicle , Feb. 13, 1965; "S.F. Legislators Hit Viet Policy," San Francisco Examiner , Feb. 13, 1965; Earl C. Behrens, "Our Legislature's Battle of 1799," San Francisco Chronicle , Feb. 20, 1965; and "Week's News in Review," San Francisco News—Call Bulletin , Feb. 28, 1965. [BACK]

13. Although John Burton and friends were castigated as traitors for their telegram with its reference to Kosygin's visit to Hanoi, it was learned years later that Kosygin's mission was to persuade the North Vietnamese to compromise with the United States. Kosygin feared that the war was jeopardizing "peaceful coexistence" between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In a tragic miscalculation that only escalated the war, Kosygin promised more military aid to the North Vietnamese, calculating that he could use it as a lever to control his ally. Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History , p. 411. [BACK]

14. Telegram from Frank Allaun et al. to Willie Brown, William Stanton, and John Burton, Feb. 12, 1965, Phillip Burton Papers, folder "John Burton/Willie Brown 1965 Vietnam Recall," carton 5, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. [BACK]

15. Willie Brown, interview, San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 17, 1994. [BACK]

16. John Burton, interview. [BACK]

17. Jack S. McDowell, "How Not to Be Effective," San Francisco News—Call Bulletin , Mar. 23, 1965. [BACK]

18. Editorial, "The Meddlers," San Francisco Examiner , Mar. 1, 1965. [BACK]

19. "John Burton y Companeros Traicionan a sus Electores," Los Angeles Hispanic , date unknown, article and English translation found in Phillip Burton Papers, folder "John Burton/Willie Brown 1965 Vietnam Recall," carton 5, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. [BACK]

20. Editorial, "Three Assemblymen and Pickets," Alameda Times-Star , Feb. 17, 1965. [BACK]

21. Editorial, "Vietnam: War or Peace," San Francisco Sun-Reporter , Feb. 20, 1965. [BACK]

22. Behrens, "Our Legislature's Battle of 1799"; "Assemblymen Who Sent Viet Wire Backed," Los Angeles Times , Feb. 25, 1965. [BACK]

23. "Recall in Burton, Brown," San Francisco Chronicle , Feb. 24, 1965. [BACK]

24. "Suit against Willie Brown—'Insurrectionary,'" San Francisco Chronicle , Mar. 6, 1965. [BACK]

25. "Recall in Burton, Brown." [BACK]

26. Editorial, "Time to Get to Work," The Sacramento Bee , Feb. 26, 1965. [BACK]

27. "Chinese American Democratic Club New Year's Dinner," San Francisco Chinese Times (English translation), Feb. 17, 1965. [BACK]

28. John Burton, interview. [BACK]

29. Ibid. [BACK]

30. Ibid. [BACK]

31. Interviews, John Burton; Willie Brown, San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 17, 1994. [BACK]

32. Press release, Jesse Unruh, Phillip Burton Papers, file "John Burton/Willie Brown 1965 Vietnam Recall," carton 5, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. [BACK]

33. Jackson Doyle, "Demos Back 3 in Vietnam Controversy," San Francisco Chronicle , Feb. 25, 1965. [BACK]

34. Willie Brown, interview, San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 17, 1994. [BACK]

35. Doyle, "Demos Back 3 in Vietnam Controversy." [BACK]

36. Jackson Doyle, "Legislator Fights His 'Censurer,'" San Francisco Chronicle , Feb. 26, 1965. [BACK]

37. United Press International, "Stanton Again Shouted Down," Feb. 25, 1965. [BACK]

38. Jerome Waldie went on to serve in Congress, and as a member of the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Richard Nixon in 1974; Unruh voted for the antiwar candidacy of Eugene McCarthy at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. [BACK]

39. John Burton, interview. [BACK]

40. "Willie Brown Won't Be in Viet Rally," San Francisco Chronicle , Apr. 17, 1965. [BACK]

41. Willie Brown, interview, San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 17, 1994. [BACK]

42. "Assemblyman Brown Hurt in Car Crash," San Francisco Chronicle , May 18, 1965. [BACK]

43. "Bill Would Ban Use of Dogs in Protests," Sacramento Bee , Feb. 11, 1965; "Some Court Cases Would Be Delayed," The Sacramento Bee , Jan. 19, 1965. [BACK]

44. "Willie Brown's Housing Bill," San Francisco Chronicle , Apr. 21, 1965; "Bill to Raise Rent Subsidy Introduced," San Francisco Chronicle , Apr. 23, 1965; "SF Man Wants Better Housing for Elderly," The Sacramento Bee , Jan. 28, 1965; "Assembly Bill Would Publish Welfare News," The Sacramento Bee , Mar. 4, 1965. [BACK]

45. John Mockler, interview, Sacramento, Calif., July 29, 1993. [BACK]

46. John Burton, oral history interview, California State Archives, Sacramento. [BACK]

47. Letter from Willie Brown to Jesse Unruh, Apr. 28, 1965, Jesse M. Unruh Papers folder "Correspondence, Legislators, Be-Car 1959-69," LP236:295, California State Archives, Sacramento. [BACK]

48. Letter from John Burton to Jesse Unruh, June 29, 1965, Jesse M. Unruh Papers, folder "Correspondence, Legislators, Be-Car 1959-69," LP236:295, California State Archives, Sacramento. [BACK]

49. "Lawyer Members of Legislature Would Get Case Continuances," The Sacramento Bee , Mar. 4, 1965. [BACK]

50. Final Calendar of Legislative Business , 1965 (Sacramento: California Legislature, 1965), p. 145. [BACK]

51. John Burton, oral history interview. [BACK]

52. "Single Tax Backer Believes Plan Would Discourage Slums," The Sacramento Bee , May 11, 1965; full-page advertisement, "Thank You, Mr. Brown!" San Francisco Chronicle , May 10, 1965. [BACK]

53. Amendment to ACA 49 on June 3, 1965. [BACK]

54. "Property Improvement Tax Relief Plan Loses in Test in Assembly," The Sacramento Bee , June 8, 1965; also Final Calendar of Legislative Business , 1965, p. 989. [BACK]

55. John Burton, interview; Final Calendar of Legislative Business , 1965, p. 344; and California Insurance Code , 1965, chap. 10, section 660. [BACK]

56. Editorial, "Avoid Gouging," The Sacramento Bee , Feb. 16, 1965. [BACK]

57. Final Calendar of Legislative Business , 1965. [BACK]

58. John L. Burton, oral history interview. [BACK]

59. This account of the Watts riot is based largely on Hugh Pearson, The Shadow of the Panther ; and Fred Powledge, Free at Last? The Civil Rights Movement and the People Who Made It . [BACK]

60. Julian Bond, interview, Washington, D.C., Dec. 3, 1993. [BACK]

61. "UC's Sit-in and the L.A. Riots," San Francisco Chronicle , Aug. 8, 1965. [BACK]

62. Julian Bond, interview. [BACK]

63. Hugh Pearson, The Shadow of the Panther , p. 97. [BACK]

64. Press release, "NPACC's Board Meeting in Sacramento—A Success," May 17, 1965, Jesse M. Unruh Papers, folder "Negro Political Action Group," contained in Larry Margolis files, box 11, B304, California State Archives, Sacramento. [BACK]

65. The importance of NPAAC and the Bakersfield meeting was emphasized to the author by political scientist David Covin, California State University, Sacramento; also Mary R. Warner, "The Rise of Blacks in the Politics of California," California Journal , Aug. 1978, p. 256. [BACK]

66. James Wrightson, "Fiery Plea Rock the Boat Marks Negro Session," The Sacramento Bee , Jan. 16, 1966; Sydney Kossen, "Calif. Negroes' Power Aim," San Francisco Examiner , Jan. 16, 1966; also interviews, David Covin, California State University, Sacramento, Calif., Feb. 4, 1993; Maxine Waters, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1993. [BACK]

67. Maxine Waters, interview. [BACK]