Author Description

Strikes of the Thirties turned Chops Lawrence to civil rights, but he was also an actor, football star, master of ceremonies, private eye, and a deputy sheriff. In 1944 he served in the segregated 93d Infantry Division and was awarded three Bronze Stars, but prejudice forced him out of the Army. Chops became a private eye and built a drug store in an impoverished neighborhood. He moved east to be a federal investigator, but his town never forgot him. Chops' story is also the story of Bakersfield's African-American past.