Earl Wilkenson

Earl Wilkenson was a Black worker jailed on a vagrancy charge in Lincoln Heights jail, Los Angeles. In a letter published in January 1936, Agnes Hendricks described his confinement and the conditions faced by other prisoners. Jail officials had placed him in solitary confinement after demanding that he climb the bars to clean them. After five months in isolation, he had lost seventy pounds. His scheduled release was delayed when officials revoked his credit for good conduct. Supporters appealed to the city council over conditions in the jail.