"What Yetta’s case brings us is not some sort of narrow right to carry a red flag; it gives us the right to publicly disagree with the government … I think your aunt has to accept the fact that this was a bigtime victory!"
- Floyd Abrams, 1st Amendment Attorney
In The Land of Orange Groves and Jails I finally convince my great-aunt Yetta to reveal her tale of teenage activism during the free speech and labor battles of 1920s Los Angeles. Her arrest for flying a red flag over a summer camp resulted in the US Supreme Court’s first victory for free speech (Stromberg v. California) - laying important groundwork for our right to protest and dissent.
This is a “David and Goliath” story of young people from immigrant families who stood up for their convictions, challenged LA's infamous police, and helped guarantee one of America’s most treasured freedoms. But past mixes with present as the filmmaking unfolds: as I learn more about my family’s activist history I have to confront a multi-generational legacy of secrecy and fear. In the beginning Yetta thinks what’s going on now is so much more important than the past – but by the end of the film Yetta and I both see how her story creates a dramatic context for our activism today.
The title is taken from a story Upton Sinclair wrote about Yetta’s trial.
Stromberg mentioned in NY Review of Books
On March 23, 2017 David Cole (ACLU’s national legal director) included Yetta’s case in his article in the NY Review of Books, “Why Free Speech Is Not Enough.” Yetta’s activism led the US Supreme Court to finally say our right to free speech and the right to criticize the government are protected!
Your tax-deductible donation of any size will help us complete the film and is gratefully welcomed!