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Peek in the Stacks: los angeles

Documented Refugee Experiences

Refugees are individuals who are outside the boundaries of their home nations, and are unable to return there safely. Some are forced to leave, while others flee for their own safety. Refugees are most commonly unable to return to their home countries because of persecution based on their race, ethnicity, or religion; because of their political affiliations; or because their home ....

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Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Collection

A group of five unions, cigar makers, printers, tailors, carpenters, and bakers, organized the Los Angeles Federation of Labor on June 23, 1889. The following year, the Los Angeles Typographical Union procured a charter from the San Francisco Federated Trades in order to form the Los Angeles Council of Labor. In 1894....

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Linked in Friendship, Connected in Service

Special Collections and Archives holds the papers of Links, Incorporated, Angel City Chapter, one of more than two-hundred eighty chapters across the United States. In 1946, Philadelphia residents, Margaret Hawkins and Sarah Scott, founded Links, Inc. envisioning a community service organization that would meet the needs and aspirations of inter-city African-American women. The ...

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On Strike!

The Urban Archives, part of Special Collections and Archives, collects materials that document the history of Los Angeles, and includes the records of many labor unions, guilds, and affiliated labor organizations that have operated within Los Angeles since the early 20th century. Many of these collections include records documenting labor strikes, or work stoppages ....

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Comisión Femenil San Fernando Valley Collection

In the United States, the 1968 East Los Angeles student walkouts began a rise of Chicano activism. A flash point was the Chicano Moratorium march on August 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles. On that day, the tragic deaths of four people included the celebrated Los Angeles Times journalist, Ruben Salazar. One organization to grow out of this turbulent period is Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional...

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A River Runs Through It

Members of the Portolá Expedition were the first Europeans to see the Los Angeles River, camping on its banks near what is now downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 1769. Franciscan missionary and diarist for the expedition, Fray Juan Crespi wrote, "...we entered a very spacious valley, well grown with cottonwoods and alders....

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Brad Pye, Jr., Los Angeles Sports Journalist and Community Advocate

In 1943, at the young age of 12, Brad Pye, Jr. paid a friend who transported cars to California $5.00 for a ride from his home in Plain Dealing, Louisiana to Los Angeles. Once in L.A., Pye continued his education, completing both junior high and high school while working as a gas station attendant in the evenings. During World War II, housing accommodations were tight and Pye rented space to sleep...

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Van Nuys, Then and Now

Los Angeles is a key shaped city spread cross a large swath of Southern California. Encompassing almost 470 square miles, the City has almost twice the landmass of Chicago. One of the more interesting aspects of the area is its multitude of smaller districts, towns, and neighborhoods that fan out from the city proper. Van Nuys is one of these towns....

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Coalition for Women's Economic Development Collection

The Coalition for Women's Economic Development (CWED) began emerging in the United States in the mid- to late-1980s to provide better economic options for micro-entrepreneurs. CWED was the first organization of its kind in the city of Los Angeles and one of the first in the United States. The organization borrowed strategies from Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi community bank which provided micro-credit loans to those living in abject poverty. CWED engaged in...

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Voices and Vices: The Reverend Wendell L. Miller Collection

Reverend Wendell L. Miller was a Los Angeles minister and political activist who strongly believed that the church should play a major role in the social and political agenda of its community. In 1937, Miller became involved in Los Angeles politics, holding community-wide meetings to address gambling, prostitution, and corruption in local government. Joining ranks with ...

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