The Art Kunkin Los Angeles Free Press Collection is now available for research at the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at CSUDH, after three years of work and valuable assistance from the National Historical Publications and Record Commission and the Haynes Foundation. The collection spans 1928 to 2020 and contains 551 boxes of business records and personal papers of Kunkin and the Free Press. Archives staff have generated a 380-page finding aid/collection guide. Although Kunkin (1928-2019) has largely faded from the history of journalism in California, he is an important figure in the rise of the U.S. underground press. Kunkin was a promoter, socialist, ... Read More
Gerth Archives
KCET: Historic Filipinotown
Source: KCET's "Lost LA" (YouTube) In this episode, host Nathan Masters explores the yo-yo's surprising origin story, tours L.A.'s Historic Filipinotown neighborhood (a.k.a. "HiFi") in a Jeepney and tastes classic Filipino street food. CSUDH's Gerth Archives and Special Collections, which houses Filipino American collections, appears in the first segment of the episode (watch from 1:26-7:00). ... Read More
New Exhibition Explores Alternative Journalism
The exhibition "Alternate Takes: Community, Underground and Alternative Newspapers, Zines, & Comix at the CSUDH Gerth Archives & Special Collections," is now open in the Library Cultural Arts Gallery. The exhibition is focused on alternative and community newspapers and publications, and the history told and preserved within their pages. Through these periodicals, the Gerth Archives aims to showcase how communities in Los Angeles and across the world documented their lived experiences through an array of publications, ranging from newspapers to comics, zines, and more. An opening reception will be held on Oct. 5, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. "This exhibition reflects the ... Read More
Gerth Archives Marks New Milestones in Documenting History
The CSUDH Gerth Archives and Special Collections, noted for its preservation of Southern California histories and cultures, has had three major developments toward its mission of making materials more accessible to the public. The Archives is inviting the campus community and public to explore the newly completed Japanese American Digitization Project online, as well as the “Know Justice, Know Peace” exhibition currently on view in the University Library. In addition, the Archives recently received a $150,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions to catalog the L.A. Free Press collection. More information about each of these developments is ... Read More
Gerth Archives Wins New Grants
The CSUDH Gerth Archives and Special Collections has been awarded two grants to assist in cataloguing several of its notable collections. The archives received a $100,000 grant from the California State Library to support CSUDH's LGBTQ History Access Project. The funds will enable the archives to hire an archivist to catalog, arrange, and describe several collections related to the Southern California LGBTQ community. They will also allow the Gerth Archives to stage a speaker's series related to the collections. “The Archives is very pleased that we were able to get the grant because there are a limited number of prominent LGBTQ archives in the state,” says Greg Williams, director of ... Read More
