Yet just like the residents whose stories they chronicle, these Boyle Heights youth have big plans. “I hope that one day segregation between social classes and race will disappear and we can all live in harmony,” writes Ismael. “I wish I could see my dad again and graduate from college,” Marissa writes.

They talk about becoming a firefighter, a cop, a neurosurgeon, a tattoo artist, a lawyer, a movie director, a mechanic, a culinary arts teacher, an architect, an author, a bartender, a good parent.

And they often tie their aspirations to giving back to their community and making a difference. “My dream is to become a social worker to ensure the safety of kids in Boyle Heights,” says Alejandra. “I want to give back to my community by doing something effective and promoting higher education.”

In a fitting wrap-up to their own year of hard work on the book, these students offer their own advice on transformation. “You can’t face the world if you’re not being you,” wrote Jessica. “My hope is we all find ourselves.”

When students and teachers unveiled In Our Global Village: Boyle Heights through The Eyes of its Youth to their senior banquet, Roosevelt High School Principal Sofia Freire called the In Our Global Village program “a brilliant way to leave a legacy, in the school and the community.” 

For the 110 seniors who produced the book, it was, in the words of Ruby, “unforgettable.”

See second featured book: Zagreb, Croatia

BOYLE HEIGHTS THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS YOUTH (continued)

Transformations

Boyle Heights, these high school seniors say, has long been an incubator for immigrants, with one ethnic group continually replacing another.  Andrew A. Boyle, for whom the area is named, was an Irish immigrant who established his home in the area in 1858. His son-in-law, William H. Workman, served as mayor and city councilman and helped build the water lines, bridges, and public transportation that connected Boyle Heights to the Los Angeles city center and made it a viable place to live.

As Irish immigrants moved up and out, a thriving Jewish community took its place, joined by the Japanese. In the 1950s and ’60s, Mexican families settled in. Today Boyle Heights is almost 100 percent Mexican in its ethnicity.

“People decide to leave when they have acquired enough money to move to more prestigious areas,” the students write. “In the meantime, they enjoy our community as much as possible and think of it as the most comfortable and perfect way to start their lives.”

These young authors could say the same for themselves. “Their” Boyle Heights is culturally vibrant, a mix of mercaditos and quinceañeras. It is young, with a median age of just 25, and poor: median household income is $33,235. Roosevelt High School, with over 5,000 students, is one of the largest schools in the country. Chronically under-resourced, it “underperforms” by most academic measures.

Copyright 2011 by WKCD | Providence, Rhode Island | 401.247.7665