On the pages of this website are resources related to the novel for educators, students, readers, and others who want to better understand conditions we face in South Los Angeles today and their historical roots, focusing on the 1980s and some of the underlying factors that led up to the civil unrest of 1992.

We invite you to explore scenes from the novel depicting events and issues in South L.A. during this time, documents and images from the Southern California Library's collections, links, and suggested readings--on such things as plant closures, immigration, police brutality, and resistance-- that have shaped communities like South Los Angeles.

Through these histories, we deepen our understanding that the conditions we face today are not inevitable, that working together we can improve the material conditions and quality of life in our neighborhoods and schools today.

Many thanks to the James Irvine Foundation, which made it possible for the Southern California Library to work with artists Gary Phillips and Steven Walters to share these stories of South L.A.