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Throughout the last century, two prominent African American women — Charlotta Bass and Miriam Matthews — consistently shone a light on the city's early African heritage, raising awareness of the Black heritage of the city's first settlers.
Known as "Black Beverly Hills," View Park by becoming one of the largest, wealthiest and most architecturally distinct Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles. But it owes its significance to a complicated racial history.
As Los Angeles expanded, a need to clear up confusion for citizens came when duplicate numbered streets and avenues appeared throughout the city.
In 1916, the proposed establishment of the Sierra Madre National Park laid in the hands of conservationist Stephen Mather. But an underfunded national park system and the area's lack of "nationally significant" monumental scenery meant a swift end to the plan.
While the building’s namesake Lewis Bradbury is often referenced in historical accounts, his wife Simona is rarely mentioned alongside him even though she oversaw his business affairs after his death, including the completion of the iconic Bradbury Building.
Arcadia Bandini Stearns de Baker was rich, beautiful and connected. This savvy businesswoman would be an important player in early California and helped shape Santa Monica and the west side of Los Angeles.
In the early 1900s, Los Angeles’ temperate climate and natural attractions drew droves of tourists seeking an escape from crowded, industrial cities. But behind the pristine curtain of Mt. Lowe’s tourism industry was a harsh reality of labor exploitation that continues to disproportionately affect Los Angeles’ Latinx population today.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Los Angeles had its own Motown records — Dootone Records. The label's owner, Dootsie Williams, was a trailblazing Black music executive and entrepreneur who not only left an impact on the music industry, but also in his community.
Edgar Lucien Larkin came to Southern California in 1900 to work the Lowe Observatory's 16-inch refracting telescope and discuss science with tourists. But what made him stand out and draw crowds up the mountain night after night was the way he explained astronomy as a kind of magic, bridging ancient mystery and modern science.
The legacies of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles still resonate. Once again, the Olympics are coming at a great juncture in Los Angeles history. How will this iteration shape the future of Los Angeles?
In 1984, Los Angeles exuded Olympic psychedelia, a gleeful '80s aesthetic which underlined the complementary power of sport, culture and art. It would also revitalize a bedraggled Olympic movement.
The history of the young Black "deb" illuminates African American women's history and the complexity of racial representation. Theirs is a story of challenging institutionalized stereotypes that limit the role and potential of Black girls.