Love the Past | Embrace the Future | Share the Joy

May the year to come be filled with hope, love, community, peace, and infinite possibilities. During this season many of us find ourselves evaluating what we accomplished in the last year, to help us establish goals for the new year.

Alison Rose Jefferson and other experts interviewed for KCET’s ‘Lost LA’, Season Two shows with the production crew. The photograph was made at the KCET’s SHINING A LIGHT ON LA event which previewed their new original series ‘SoCal Connected’, ‘Town Hall Los Angeles’ and ‘Lost LA’. Blossom Ballroom/The Hotel Roosevelt, Hollywood, California, 2 October 2017.

In 2017, I participated in several meaningful efforts to remember the narratives and sites of the African American experience in the history of Los Angeles, California and the United States. One of these efforts included being a featured historian on the KCET ‘Lost LA’ series, Episode Five: “Coded Geographies,” which debuted in Fall 2017. If you did not have a chance to see this show or others in Season Two of ‘Lost LA’, KCET is re-airing all the episodes over the next few months. Additionally, the full episodes are streaming at KCET.org/LostLA and through Amazon, Roku, Apple TV, and other OTT channels.

My other accomplishments last year to aid in the remembrance and celebration of the African American experience included my work on Angels Walk Central Avenue Heritage Trail and the African American Context Statement for SurveyLA. With the Santa Monica Conservancy I began a youth history field trip program and the organization also honored me with their James A. Cameron Award. My book project with the University of Nebraska Press is on track for a publication date to be set soon.

In 2018, I look forward to continuing to serve the voices of our communities that have been ignored through the work I do as a historian, heritage conservation consultant and activist in documenting and spreading knowledge to empower people now and in the future.