Treasure Chest, Robert Louis Stevenson Jr. High School Yearbook, 1939

Bought at a local estate sale, this yearbook is a look into history, into the East Los Angeles community. East Los Angeles was an unincorporated area east of the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Many of the residents there came from Boyle Heights, which was a “melting pot” of different cultures.

According to the Home Ownership Loan Corporation maps, these two communities were unique in that they had a large diversity of ethnicities. For the same reason, they were also seen as a threat to the country and others — and this community was “redlined” by the real estate business, by the government, and society at large.

Despite this oppression, the community persevered and celebrated their diversity, and asserted their inclusion into America.


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