The Great Wall of Los Angeles Mural Project

On this edition of From The Vault, we present the 1984 documentary on The Great Wall of Los Angeles, an ambitious beautification project conceived in 1974 that resulted in one of the world’s longest murals at 2700 feet and growing.

The Great Wall mural, under the direction of artist and educator Judy Baca, began as a beautification project. It evolved into a historical journey of the under-represented that now has thousands of visitors every year.

This program, produced and narrated by Helene Rosenbluth and Carol Dix in 1984, captures the cinematic scope of this incredible project.

Guests:

Judy Baca – Artist/muralist project director at SPARC Social and Public Arts Resource Center discusses the overall scope of the project to give voice to those left out of the history books.

Dr. Sarah Sage – Professor of Women’s Studies at The University of California at Riverside gives comments on the women’s Herstory section.

Dr. Bruce Phillips – Sociologist at Hebrew Union College sheds light on the flight dynamic of the poor moving from rural areas to the inner city and the wealthy transitioning to newly formed suburbs. He focuses on the Jewish contributions exemplified by Einstein and the new age of the atom.

Bob Pearson – In 1984, Pearson was a doctoral candidate on Social Ethics at the University of Southern California and was one of the researchers of the Great Wall project. He comments on the Great Wall Mural section documenting the oppressive era of blacklisting at its height in the 1950s.

Nancy Angelo – Research coordinator for the Great Wall Mural Project talks about the early days of the Gay Rights Movement.

Dr. Yuji Ichioka –  Professor of Asian American Studies at UCLA sheds light on the Great Wall section depicting the struggle for naturalization for Asians in America.

Cybil Venegas – professor of Chicano/a Studies at East Los Angeles College discusses the challenges of Latino communities in the face of urban development in the 1950s.

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