Boyle Heights was one of the earliest residential areas outside of Los Angeles's original pueblo. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it was the city's most ethnically heterogeneous neighborhood with residents coming from such far-flung places as Mexico, Japan, England, Germany, Russia, and Armenia, as well as from the eastern, southern, and southwestern United States. Over the years, Boyle Heights has continued to be a focal point for new immigration. Transformed through the everyday interactions of its diverse residents as well as by political events occurring at the regional, national, and international levels, the neighborhood's historical and contemporary communities reflect the challenges and potential of living in a pluralistic society.
This engaging history is based on a 2002 exhibition, Boyle Heights: The Power of Place, which featured historical photographs, artifacts, artwork, and oral histories. This exhibition was initiated by the Japanese American National Museum in collaboration with the International Institute of Los Angeles, the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, Self-Help Graphics & Art, Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School, and past and present Boyle Heights residents. Since its incorporation in 1985, the Japanese American National Museum has become an important Southern California cultural resource as well as an internationally recognized institution.