Special Collections and Archives holds many collections related to local government and the professional lives of elected officials who have worked to serve the interests of people living in the region. The Joy Picus Collection, documents the political career of Picus, the first female member of the Los Angeles City Council representing
In the history of the United States, religious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment have frequently come under fire. In the 1920s, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in concert with restrictive immigration legislation, educational prohibitions, and economic scapegoating, resulted in growing anti-Semitism against Jews...
On Tuesday, November 1st, the Valley Performing Arts Center welcomed famed comedy and theater group, Culture Clash in a one-night performance of "VOTE OR DIE LAUGHING: A Post-Modern Political Vaudeville." Special Collections and Archives is proud to be the home of the Culture Clash Collections, donated to the Library ....
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 ....
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...
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...
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....
Peggy Gilbert was a jazz saxophonist who, beginning in the 1930’s, formed several all-female bands, and through her work represented women in the world of jazz performance. Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, Gilbert was an active member of the Los Angeles Musicians Union, local 47, remaining a trustee after retiring from her performing career. She formed her most successful group, the Dixie Belles, at the age of 69. The Dixie Belles toured throughout the U.S from...
Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi) gained control of the German state in 1933, after which the systematic and deliberate exclusion of Jews rapidly escalated. In 1933 Hitler called for a ban on Jewish business and the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service banned Jewish people (and some political opponents) from the...
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 ...
