Venice Workshop to Document Oakwood's Black Heritage

Community members will gather in Venice later this month to help document and preserve the history of Oakwood, one of Los Angeles’ last remaining Black coastal neighborhoods. The event is part of a citywide effort to identify and protect African American historic places.

The Oakwood Cultural Mapping Workshop, scheduled for June 27 at the Oakwood Recreation Center, is part of African American Historic Places Los Angeles (AAHPLA), an initiative led by the Getty Conservation Institute, the City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources, and community partners.

Organizers say the workshop will give residents, former residents, and community stakeholders an opportunity to identify places, stories, and cultural landmarks that have shaped Oakwood’s history and significance. The event will include presentations on preservation efforts, community storytelling sessions, and an interactive mapping exercise designed to document sites important to the neighborhood’s Black heritage.

“Your stories, memories, and knowledge are the foundation of what we build together,” organizers said in event materials.

Oakwood, located in Venice, has long been recognized as a historic center of African American life on Los Angeles’ Westside. The neighborhood emerged in the early 20th century as one of the few areas where Black families could purchase homes amid housing discrimination and segregation.

Organizers say preserving Oakwood’s cultural heritage has become increasingly important as development pressures and demographic changes continue to reshape the area. According to project materials, fewer than 2% of sites listed as national landmarks in the United States represent African American heritage.

The workshop is part of the broader African American Art History Initiative, an ongoing program of the Getty Research Institute that seeks to increase public awareness and scholarly access to the history, practices, and cultural legacies of African American artists and communities.