Documenting my pocket of Los Angeles
My parents were married a few years after the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriages (Loving v. Virginia)…though fortunately it was made legal in California in 1948 (Perez v. Sharp). Mom was always open with me about the racism she encountered for marrying my Mexican American dad. I only wish my dad could’ve shared his experience... Continue Reading →
Sea chanties have been in the media spotlight for the past few weeks, a cheery respite from the grim news cycle of January 2021. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of joining Pomona College professor Gibb Schreffler and his Maritime Music class on a sailboat as students practiced singing sea chanties while hoisting... Continue Reading →
Over Thanksgiving, I started the lengthy process of extracting all the food stories documented in letters between my grandmother (Margaret) and her sister (Jan) in order to explore how their work in the kitchen related to food history of the time. I still can’t believe that, 20 years ago, I transcribed 83 of their letters... Continue Reading →
Lately I’ve been researching textiles as historical sources for women’s history. In this process, I came across the amazing quilts of mathematician Chawne Kimber. "Chawne Kimber is making some of the most powerful artworks today about race, language, women’s rights, and police brutality—all with a needle and thread," Maria Hlohowskyj (from womenarts.org). That sentence was... Continue Reading →
Through the support of Los Angeles Walks, I've been helping to organize a 4-walk series in which we're making our way around the original border of the City of Los Angeles. This past weekend, about 50 people joined the trek down the eastern border which I co-lead with the amazing urban planner James Rojas. For... Continue Reading →
On Mother’s Day, I led a women’s history walking tour through downtown Los Angeles in honor of my own deceased mother. Mom was a passionate advocate for documenting women’s stories in Los Angeles. Sharing these stories seemed like the best way to honor her memory, especially since I incorporate her research into the tour script.... Continue Reading →
I spent part of National Storytelling Week (January 26 - February 2) immersed in the art of storytelling—radio storytelling. After a week-long Transom workshop in New Mexico, I produced, narrated, and edited my own radio segment that aired on Santa Fe’s KSFR on February 21, 2019. The piece features Santa Fe’s former City Historian Ana... Continue Reading →
Before I fully dive into the new year, I always reflect on the last one, listing accomplishments, milestones, challenges, disappointments, etc. While these reflections remain private, I did want to document here some of the historic and/or notable places I moved through this year. This is definitely not an exhaustive list but just a few... Continue Reading →
A nice surprise to see my photo pop up in a KPCC story: The story is here, and my original photo here.
Sharing this post I crafted for the Arboretum Library's Instagram: On March 10, 1841, poet Ina Coolbrith was born. In 1915, she was crowned California’s first poet laureate which is the same year Luther Burbank named his Crimson Eschscholtzia for her (this image comes from the @californiastatelibrary). Coolbrith praised the California Poppy with her 1893... Continue Reading →
Victoria Bernal 