The San Jose Letter

History of San Jose Quakers, West Coast Friends West Coast Quakers (1846-1930s)

This report summarizes a 3-year monitoring effort by the staff of the Western Regional Office of the United States Commission on Civil Rights concerning police-community relations in San Jose, Calif. In 1976, San Jose minority community representatives alleged that law officers used abusive and threatening language, threats of arrest in individuals complained, and deadly force. All too often, they alleged, the victims were the city's minorities. The report describes the background of the problem and community perceptions and the police department response during the period of change between 1976 and 1979. The civil rights staff, which interviewed over 120 persons, including city and law enforcement officials, clergy, public and private agency representatives, and minority community representatives, found that the level of fear, mistrust, and hostility toward the police in San Jose in 1979 did not seem to approximate that of 1976. The staff also found that there was a police department administrative emphasis on courtesy and professional service, a recognizable and definable police-community relations program, and a decrease in the number of officer-involved shootings. Although minority community relations with police improved, incidents of abuse were still reported. In addition, interviews revealed an unresolved conflict within the police department over whether the department should emphasize law enforcement or service. Footnotes and tabular data are included. Appendixes contain letters from the president and vice-president of the San Jose Peace Officers' Association.

2007 Award for Excellence in World History and Biography/Autobiography, Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers Sunk in a British ambush in 1708, the Spanish galleon San José was rumored to have one of the richest cargos ever lost at sea. Though treasure hunters have searched for the wreck's legendary bounty, no one knows exactly how much went down with the ship or exactly where it sank. Here, Carla Rahn Phillips confronts the legend of lost treasure with documentary records of the San José's final voyage and suggests that the loss of silver and gold en route to Spain paled in comparison to the loss of the six hundred men who went down with the ship. Drawing from rich archival records, Phillips presents a biography of the ship and its crew. With vivid detail and meticulous scholarship, the author tells the stories of the officers, sailors, apprentices, and pages who manned the ship and explains the historical context in which the San José became prey to the British squadron. But the story does not end with the sinking of the San José. While Phillips addresses the persistent question of how much treasure was on board when the ship went down, she focuses on the human dimensions of the tragedy as well. She recovers the accounts of British naval officers involved in the battle, and examines the impact of the ship's loss on the Spanish government, the survivors, and the families of the men who perished. Original, comprehensive, and compelling, The Treasure of the San José separates popular myth from history and sheds light on the human lives associated with a "treasure" ship.