Girls in costume sit in front of Budda during Autumn Moon Festival in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, 1939
COMMUNITY LEADERS — Typical of the Negro fund-raising groups which support charities is the Women’s Sunday Breakfast Club. Its officers are, from left Mrs. Marilyn Green, financial secretary Mrs. Lois Byrd, treasurer Mrs. Gilbert Lindsay, president, Mrs. Mildred McKinney, recording secretary.
Los Angeles Times
July 6, 1962
Bessie Bruington Burke (1891-1968), the first black principal of a Los Angeles public school.
According to the West Adams Heritage Association:
Her parents came from Kansas to Los Angeles by covered wagon in 1877, settling in what is now North Hollywood where Bessie was born. She graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1911 and attended college at Los Angeles State Normal School (now part of UCLA), graduating 7th in a class of 800. She earned her teaching credential in 1911. Her first teaching assignment was at Holmes Avenue school, where she was promoted to principal in 1918, the first African American principal in the Los Angeles school system. Her efforts to break the color bar were supported by the Forum, an African-American civic organization headquartered at the corner of Eighth and Wall Streets. For a number of years she was principal of the Virginia Road Elementary School at 2925 Virginia Road in West Adams. Burke served with a number of civic organizations including the YWCA, Native California Club, Wilfandel, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and the NAACP… She retired in 1955 after 44 years with the Los Angeles Board of Education.
Micaela “Mickey” Campoy de Gutierrez, was a mother, a wife, and an immigrant. Her husband, Herbert Gutierrez was a druggist in a Los Angeles drug store. Mickey became a U. S. citizen on April 11, 1941. She came to the United States with her mother, Rosario de Felis Campoy, and several brothers and sisters in 1920. Her mother brought the family from Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico. Their destination was Los Angeles, California.
In the holdings of the National Archives at Riverside, men and women of Hispanic heritage are intertwined in many of our records, including records documenting citizenship.
¡Celebración de la Herencia Hispana!
To pay tribute to the many generations of Hispanic Americans that have enriched our nation’s history, the National Archives at Riverside will be highlighting some of our holdings relating to Hispanic American history in our region (Southern California, Arizona, and Clark County, NV), including records relating to Private Land Claims, Immigration and Naturalization, military service and many more.
For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month, see http://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/
Valerie Brisco-Hooks shows off her Olympic medals at her alma mater, West Athens Elementary. In her arms is her son, Alvin Jr.
Valerie won three gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles: 200 m, 400 m, and the 4 x 400 m relay. In 1988 she won a silver medal in Seoul in the 4 x 400 m relay. Today, Valerie is a track coach in the Los Angeles area.
