Palm Springs has long been a retreat for Southern California’s wealthy elite, who are drawn to the hot and dry climate, gorgeous mid-century modern architecture, and the Coachella Valley’s golf courses. For decades, an overgrown grove of Tamarisk trees separated one of those golf courses from one of the city’s few predominantly Black neighborhoods.
Residents there say those trees were planted deliberately to separate them from the golf course. Palm Springs’ progressive city council denied this and were dismayed to see the story become culture war fodder on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show a few years ago. The tale is the subject of a new PBS documentary called Racist Trees.
The stature of these trees is what caught the attention of Racist Trees co-directors Mina T. Son and Sara Newens. That’s because they’re 50-60 feet tall and non-native — which require lots of water and maintenance. Locals who live in the neighborhood of Crossley Tract report that the trees take up parts of their yards and are home to unwanted creatures, including rats and snakes.
Life in Crossley Tract is a unique experience for homeowner Kevin Williams, as Tamarisk trees depress property values and create a distinctive barrier segregating a predominantly Black neighborhood from the rest of Palm Springs. Credit: Sara Newens.
Crossley Tract was built in the 1950s for Black families to move into the area. Black entrepreneur Lawrence Crossley was able to acquire the land because it sat outside of Palm Springs. Previously, Son says Black residents were unable to live in the area due to discriminatory housing practices.
“There were a lot of different [practices], whether it's loan practices or unaffordability, to be able to live in the city. And so they had to find other means and other housing,” Son says. “One of the areas that they were able to live in was an area in the 1950s called Section 14 that was on tribal land, owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. And so they were able to lease their land to Black families, Mexican families — a lot of the laborers who were working in the city at the time.”
Eventually, the land was incorporated into the city.
Newens says the band of trees in the historically Black neighborhood became a political flashpoint when a white resident — and real estate agent — named Trae Daniel became a vocal proponent of removing them. He pointed out that the trees were depressing property values in the area.
“Though the residents for many years have been complaining about the trees, specifically, because no one was maintaining them, Trae really took the mantle and tried to get the attention of the city by pointing out the fact that these were potentially planted with racist intent. And many residents believe that's the case. And so it kept getting louder and louder as a way to get the city's attention,” Newens explains.
Trae Daniel, a newer resident of Crossley Tract, took up the mantle to advocate for the removal of the Tamarisk trees after Black residents were ignored for decades by the City of Palm Springs. Credit: Jerry Henry.
Son says some community residents welcomed the attention — they felt like their voices were finally being heard and something would be done to address the issue.
That attention spurred quick action, Son says. It was a far cry from the way the city reacted previously: “In the beginning, it seemed as if they weren't sure about taking down the trees. They were talking about how much it was going to cost, they needed to find the budget. And so I think for them, they just want it to go away as quickly as possible.”
“The Desert Sun” published articles that sparked international media attention and backlash against the so-called “racist trees” that were planted in Palm Springs in the late 1950's. Credit: Jerry Henry.
In an interview with the mayor of Palm Springs, Son and Newens noticed that the city was searching for a non-racist reason to remove the trees. “One of the things that actually surprised us quite a bit was the lengths to which they were going to try to prove otherwise, as if racist intent is something that you can actually prove. And so there was digging into Palm Springs history and looking at photographs and different things to try to get to the bottom of who planted these trees.”
It’s unclear who planted the trees, when they did it, and what their intentions were. Photos appear to show that the trees were planted before the neighborhood’s development.
“There are no receipts. There's no documentation. And the conclusion that we draw on the film is that it was likely city leaders at the time who did plant it, because Frank Bogert, the mayor at the time, also owned the golf course.”
Crossley Tract resident Charles Metcalf, Jr. finds himself surrounded by detritus from the imposing Tamarisk trees bordering his property. Credit: Jerry Henry.
Ultimately however, Son and Newens say that there’s a greater issue at hand in Palm Springs. “We felt like it's not so important who planted them and why. It's much more important to listen to this community who's suffering today and not seeing their property values appreciate in the way that many people in Palm Springs get to,” Newens says.
When the Tamarisk trees were finally removed in 2018, property values in the area rose upwards of 75-100%. Many residents were overjoyed, including Kevin Williams. “I feel like I'm Black and I'm part of Palm Springs. It was very emotional. At one point I didn't think they would ever come out. But to see them now gone — brings a tear to my eye because I see change in Palm Springs,” he says in the documentary.