Description
Book SynopsisThe radical history of a dynamic, multiracial American neighborhood. When I think of the future of the United States, and the history that matters in this country, I often think of Boyle Heights.George J. Sánchez The vision for America's cross-cultural future lies beyond the multicultural myth of the great melting pot. That idea of diversity often imagined ethnically distinct urban districtsthe Little Italys, Koreatowns, and Jewish quarters of American citiesbuilt up over generations and occupying spaces that excluded one another. But the neighborhood of Boyle Heights shows us something altogether different: a dynamic, multiracial community that has forged solidarity through a history of social and political upheaval. Boyle Heights is an in-depth history of the Los Angeles neighborhood, showcasing the potent experiences of its residents, from early contact between Spanish colonizers and native Californians to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the hunt for h
Trade Review"Pathbreaking civic history. . . . A historical journey through the beginning, middle, and present of one of Los Angeles’s most prominent neighborhoods. Sánchez counters the fear that shrouds its image and allows us to understand why this neighborhood is the way it is — powerful and pure of heart." * Los Angeles Review of Books *
“In the annals of Chicanx history, only a few historians stand heads and shoulders above the rest. One of those is George J. Sánchez whose recent publication . . . leaves off where his award-winning Becoming Mexican American made its mark roughly three decades ago.”
* Latino Book Review *
"A remarkable book." * Housing Studies *
"The author has written this valuable history in clear and concise language. Scholars as well as civic activists and government officials concerned with social and racial justice and with urban planning will find the book useful and enlightening. It would also work well in graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses concerned with those areas. The interested layperson will find it straightforward and comprehensible."
* Journal of Urban Affairs *
"Coherent, sweeping, dazzling." * Pacific Historical Review *
Table of ContentsList of Maps and Illustrations
Preface
Chapter One • Introduction: A Multiracial Map for America
Chapter Two • Making Los Angeles
Chapter Three • From Global Movements to Urban Apartheid
Chapter Four • Disposable People, Expendable Neighborhoods
Chapter Five • Witnesses to Internment
Chapter Six • The Exodus from the Eastside
Chapter Seven • Edward R. Roybal and the Politics of Multiracialism
Chapter Eight • Black and Brown Power in the Barrio
Chapter Nine • Creating Sanctuary
Chapter Ten • Remembering Boyle Heights
Time Line
Mayor and City Council Lists
Notes
Bibliography
Index
