Archived News & Events

A group of USC students, led by Professor Sanchez, attended the Imagining America Conference in October 2014. The group, which included four undergraduate students, one research assistant, a community partner, and an alumna from the USC Center for Diversity and Democracy, presented on their experiences regarding civic engagement via USC’s History in a Box Program. The presenters strongly emphasized the need for education to be a meaningful experience for the learner as well as for the educator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=44HuBuga8dE

The Pre-Grammy concert was organized by Breed Street Shul in partnership with Musiciancorps LA to celebrate these fantastic Grammy nominated musicians, who have deep roots in Boyle Heights, while sharing their music with the community.  Quetzal and Los Cojolites were joined by other prominent musicians including La Marisoul from La Santa Cecilia and Raul Pacheco from Ozomatli.

This collaborative project proceeds from a shared vision: to build higher education institutions that enable people from all communities, backgrounds, and identities to participate fully, and in the process, to build collective knowledge and capacity needed to solve difficult public problems, a dual agenda we referred to as “institutional citizenship.” Click here to learn more about how USC’s Center for Diversity and Democracy has worked with Imagining America to better engage the surrounding community.

Photo Credit: Gajin Fujita, 2010

Since the 19th century the corrido functioned as the people’s oral newspaper, documenting events of everyday social and political life. In celebration of the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, USC and LACMA hosted the countywide project The Corrido of LA. Students in grades 7–12 throughout Los Angeles were invited to commemorate the city they call home by composing a corrido, or ballad song, in a format of their choosing.

About the project: Students across Los Angeles were invited to submit their own corridos online via a drop box set up on lacma.org. We received more than 80 corridos: audio recordings, handwritten poems, YouTube videos, and drawings. On December 18, 2010, the all-star band Ozomatl performed juried selections here at LACMA, and the students and the community was invited to participate.