Special Collections & Archives Banner

You are here

Peek in the Stacks: los angeles

20th Century Images of the Central Avenue District

By the turn of the twentieth century the Central Avenue District was on its way to becoming the center of African American life in Los Angeles. It was a slow process that took several decades to complete. Several factors contributed to that development. The Central Avenue District was constructed by surrounding white neighborhoods that barred minorities from living in them.

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Area E Alternative School

n 1970, the notion of alternative or open schools under the public school system was proposed at the White House Conference on Children, and in 1972 Congress appropriated millions of dollars for cooperative education research. This concept of alternative schools was picked up by the education- and innovation-minded in California under the Los Angeles Unified School District’s wing and arose as a resolution to many educational problems in the state. This proposal coincided with....

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Francesca Lia Block & Irving Block

Francesca Lia Block published three books of poetry prior to her debut novel Weetzi Bat: Moon Harvest, Season of Green: Poems, and IV, Four Poems, when she was 15, 17 and 22, respectively. All three titles were published and printed by the Santa Susana Press, CSUN’s fine press which ran from 1973 to 1994, and are held in Special Collections and Archives.

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

The Death of Ronald Stokes and the Birth of Black Power in Los Angeles

In 1930 W. D. Fard formed the Black religious and social movement known as the Nation of Islam (NOI) in Detroit, Michigan. When Fard mysteriously disappeared in 1934 his disciple, Elijah Muhammad, assumed control until his death in 1975. During the mid 1950s NOI national spokesman Malcolm X was instrumental in establishing Mosque No. 27 in Los Angeles, California...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

The Daily Sundial: What’s in a Name?

The Daily Sundial, the student newspaper of California State University, Northridge, began its print publication in 1957, and started to be published online in the fall of 2014. Print issues have been digitized and made available online as part of the University Library Digital Collections. Student newspapers play a vital role in presenting news about campus life and activities, as well as cultural, political ...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Chicano Art in Unlikely Conversations

In a previous blog post titled Selections from the University Art Collection, we highlighted some art pieces that were donated to CSUN to illustrate the importance of the contemporary art and culture of Southern California. This post will focus on the giclée prints that were acquired from Cheech Marin, comedian, actor, writer, Chicano art collector, and CSUN alumnus...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Southern California Arbitration Case Files Collection

Legal court proceedings are notorious for taking months, and sometimes years, to finalize. For the sake of time and simplicity, many employers stipulate in their employment contracts that they will use an alternative: arbitration. Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution in which two parties elect a neutral third party to settle the issue... 

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries