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Karen Fombona

10/17/16

His. 301-01

Primary Source Analysis

Chavez Ravine Evictions

This photo source is one of the many photographs that show the history of

the Chavez Ravine evictions. In this photo we see four policemen forcibly removing

a women from her home. This womens name is Aurora Vargas and she was a victim

of the Chavez Ravine evictions on May 8th 1959. In the photo you can see how

Aurora is fighting the policemen and you can see it in her face she was not going to

leave her home without a fight. This photo helps us see how non-Anglos were not

heard or respected if what they wanted was not what Anglo elites wanted.

Chavez Ravine was a community filled with residents who lived there their

whole lives and created a community from themselves. All that changed when

residents received letters from the city telling them that they would have to sell

their homes in order to make land for a new housing development. The residents

were told they were going to have first choice in the new housing however the

planned changed to the building of a new stadium for the Brooklyn Dodgers, so the

new homes that were promised were never built. Just like Aurora Vargas, many

families were left without homes because of the priorities and benefits for Anglo

elites.

Aurora Vargas fought to keep her home but like many others who refused to

leave their homes, they were ignored and removed from their homes for Anglo
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profit. The Chavez Ravine evictions serve as a lesson in history of the Mexican

American experiences in Los Angeles and their relationship with Anglo elites. The

relationship is clear and Anglo elites had no respect or care for Mexican American

opinions when it comes to profit and appropriation of land for Anglo use. The

Chavez Ravine evictions are a perfect example of how Anglo elites did not care for

non-Anglos and how they held all the power.

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Works Cited Page

1. Estrada, G. (2005). If You Build It, They Will Move: The Los Angeles

Freeway System and the Displacement of Mexican East Los Angeles,

1944-1972. Southern California Quarterly, 87(3), 287-315. doi:1. Retrieved

from http://0-www.jstor.org.torofind.csudh.edu/stable/41172272 doi:1

2. Los Angeles Public Library on-line photo collection of Chavez Ravine

evictions, 1950s.