Pepperdine Libraries Celebrates Preserving the History of South Los Angeles Project at December 7 Luncheon

This week Pepperdine Libraries officially launched Preserving the History of South Los Angeles, an initiative made possible in part with support from California Humanities, designed to collect, preserve, and make available oral histories drawn from members of the South Los Angeles community.

The Libraries hosted a luncheon in Payson Library on December 7 with participants and their families, university stakeholders, faculty, and staff to celebrate the public launch of the project. The program featured the project team who shared insights, a highlight video of the interviews, and the link to the project website with completed oral histories. 

Noted dean of Pepperdine Libraries Mark Roosa, “George Pepperdine, a committed Christian entrepreneur, believed in the transformative power of education and sought to establish a university deeply rooted in the local community. South Los Angeles, renowned for its cultural diversity, resilience, and vibrant energy, served as the ideal setting for Pepperdine’s vision. I am honored that members from the community have entrusted their recollections and memories of those early days with with us so that we can preserve them for future generations.”