Abstract This collection of oral histories tells the story of a grassroots Chicano theater group, Teatro Cometa, which was active during 1970s and early 1980s in and around Fullerton, California. During their approximately dozen year span, Teatro Cometa embodied elements of the rasquache ethic as well as formal theatrical productions with varying levels of municipal and private support. This collection of oral histories gives voice to...

Abstract Agness Underwood was a Los Angeles newspaper woman for forty-two years. During the 1930s and 1940s she was one of the city's best-known court and police reporters. In 1947, she became city editor of the Herald Express, a post she held for seventeen and a half years. During that time, she was the only woman city editor of a major American metropolitan newspaper. No man had ever held the job more than four years, and during her editorship she helped push the...

Abstract The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) was formed in 1970, through the merger of the Association of Classroom Teachers of Los Angeles (ACT-LA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Local 1021. At the time, UTLA was the second-largest teacher's union and the largest merged teacher's union in the nation. The collection documents the development and achievements of UTLA, and consists of five series, with the first three reflecting the activities of the pre-merger associations, LATA,...

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The collection contains oral histories of eight key individuals involved in the history of California State University, Northridge, including some of the university's presidents and provosts. Topics discussed in the histories include the 1994 earthquake, budget crises in California, and the rapid growth and development of the campus.

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The Urban Archives General Oral Histories Collection consists of various oral histories conducted or collected by the Urban Archives that are not part of a larger project. Interviews focus on a number of subjects, including public utilities, teachers' strikes, immigration, life in California, religious conversion, the history of different neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and the personal histories of interviewees.

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Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment (Valley VOTE) is the non-profit organization which led the secession efforts of the San Fernando Valley from 1997-2002. The collection documents their petition drive, the resulting investigation by the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angeles (LAFCO), and the Measure F campaign which allowed Los Angeles residents to vote on the issue of secession.

Abstract Victor Van Bourg was a prominent labor lawyer in Southern California from the mid-1960s, until his death in 1999. He founded the firm Van Bourg, Allen, Weinberg, and Roger, in Orange County which represented over 400 unions and their members. The Van Bourg collection consists of files from legal cases brought to court by the law firm. The bulk of the materials consists of correspondence with union representatives and court pleadings. Of particular significance are the case files of the...

Abstract In his capacity as president of the Industrial Association of the San Fernando Valley, Lincoln Ward, of the Pacific Telephone Company, and Joseph Staller, of the Southern California Gas Company, conducted a series of weekly interviews over radio station KCSN. The program was called "Our Business is Your Business" and ran from 1976 to 1977. Ward and Staller interviewed outstanding business leaders of the San Fernando Valley. The 25 half-hour programs were designed to inform the public about...

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The collection consists of a scrapbook by an unknown creator, which contains news clippings, programs and other announcements about Harriet Ware, her music, and her performances. It also includes a phonograph recording and correspondence from Leila Sherman concerning the donation of the scrapbook and recording.

Abstract The Westland School is a private elementary school founded in 1949 by Lory Titelman, and Marie H. Briehl. The guiding philosophy of the School is based on the concepts of John Dewey and Progressive education, a pedagogical movement that began in the late nineteenth century. The Westland School Collection broadly documents a re-emergence of the progressive education movement, focusing on its development between 1949 and 2014 in Los Angeles, California. The...