Freedom Mapping: A Collaboration Between Pacoima and UCLA

PHS president Crystal Jackson, UCLA History Geography Dept. chairman Danny Diaz chair of UCLA History Geography Dept. (left) and teachers

The Pacoima Historical Society proudly concluded its partnership with UCLA’s History-Geography Project through the Freedom Mapping Project,  an Ethnic Studies initiative funded by the California Subject Matter Project, at a closing event held on May 21, 2024, at the Museum of the San Fernando Valley. The collaboration, which began in March 2023 and concluded in April 2024, brought together educators, scholars, and community members to reimagine how California teachers engage with local history through Ethnic Studies.

The Freedom Mapping Project brought together the UCLA History-Geography Project and UC Berkeley’s History–Social Science Project to design professional development opportunities for Ethnic Studies teachers across the state. Focusing on the communities of Oakland and Pacoima, the project encouraged participants to explore environmental issues, social change, and community resilience by creating digital "story maps." These maps combined geography, history, and oral narratives to visualize how communities define their own spaces of freedom and identity.

Throughout the project, the Pacoima Historical Society played a key role in supporting participating teachers and researchers. The Society provided access to archival materials, historical background, and local expertise, helping teachers ground their curriculum in real community history. Workshops and meetings were hosted by the Society, where educators reviewed photographs, oral histories, and documents detailing the neighborhood’s evolution, from its early days of segregation to its vibrant multicultural present.

Student talks about Pacoima's misguided reputation

Students present Pacoima's history

Amparo Chavez Gonzalez, Crystal Jackson, Danny Diaz - UCLA.

The partnership’s closing event in April 2024 brought together educators, community members, and students from across the San Fernando Valley to showcase their story maps and share reflections on the process. The room came alive with images, voices, and stories of residents whose experiences revealed Pacoima’s enduring spirit of innovation and advocacy. Each project highlighted how understanding neighborhood history can empower students to see themselves as part of a larger narrative of change.

This collaboration with UCLA reaffirms the Pacoima Historical Society’s mission to preserve and share the community’s past while inspiring future generations to see history as something living, local, and deeply personal. The lessons and resources developed through the Freedom Mapping Project will continue to inform educational practice and celebrate the stories that make Pacoima’s history remarkable and uniquely its own.