Three Panorama Photographs of Diverse Integrated Public Schools in Los Angeles, 1965-68

Three panoramic class photographs from integrated Los Angeles schools in the 1960s, capturing the racially diverse student bodies of Roosevelt High School (Class of 1968) and Hollenbeck Junior High School (Classes of 1965 and 1967). Silver gelatin prints. Photographs measure approx. 25" x 8" to 28" x 8". Los Angeles, California, 1965–1968.

This striking archive of three large-format panoramic school photographs offers a rare visual document of racial integration in Los Angeles public schools during the mid-1960s. Taken during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the images vividly capture the demographic complexity of East Los Angeles, a (truncated) historically multiracial area shaped by migration, desegregation efforts, and civic identity. The Roosevelt High School Class of 1968 portrait features hundreds of students—Latino/a, Black, Asian American, and white—posed on school grounds, many wearing graduation sashes and formal attire. Notably, Black and Asian American students are interspersed throughout the group rather than segregated by rows, emphasizing the integrated nature of the student body. The two Hollenbeck Junior High School photos (Classes of 1965 and 1967) similarly display multiethnic cohorts, with visible representation of girls in uniform dresses and boys in ties and sweaters—providing clues about school dress codes and mid-century adolescent fashion.

The verso of the Hollenbeck 1965 and 1967 prints reveals a deeply human layer of the archive: a wealth of handwritten inscriptions from classmates, signed with notes of encouragement and youthful affection. Phrases like “Good luck in the B-10” and “It’s been nice knowing you for little while” accompany signatures from students with Spanish surnames, like Roberta Noriega, situating the archive firmly within the Chicano cultural geography of East Los Angeles. These annotations not only personalize the object but also echo broader histories of belonging and friendship in an era of social upheaval. The photos thus operate on dual registers—serving as institutional records of education and as vernacular artifacts of young people navigating identity and integration in a rapidly changing city.

Mild surface creasing and light soiling to versos, particularly where inscriptions appear; images remain sharp and well-preserved with only minor edgewear and no losses. Overall very good condition. A powerful visual and material testament to the complexity of race and community in 1960s Los Angeles, these photographs document a formative period of educational and social integration in one of America’s most diverse cities. (Inventory #: 22106)