"I learned that I'm actually interested in history," said Carlos, one of seven high school students who, through the Bunker Hill Refrain Zine Academy, spent two weeks of the summer honing their skills as researchers and storytellers.
The program, funded by USC's Arts in Action, brought together young people to explore the history of Bunker Hill, a vibrant Los Angeles neighborhood razed by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) in the 1950s and 1960s. The Zine Academy was led by Dr. Meredith Drake Reitan, co-director of the Bunker Hill Refrain project, along with Mats Borges, Curtis Fletcher, and Suzi Noruschat from the USC Libraries and collaborators from the Los Angeles Public Library. Students were recruited by both USC and LAPL, with participants like Carlos joining from USC's Neighborhood Academic Initiative.
When the program began, the high school participants knew very little about Bunker Hill's history. Through immersive experiences, they gained a firsthand understanding of this displaced community. Students visited Special Collections at the USC Libraries and LAPL, met with a former Bunker Hill resident, and toured the transformed neighborhood. The program also included a visit to the Corita Art Center, where students learned about the pioneering artist who infused her work with a commitment to social justice, a theme that resonated throughout their exploration of Bunker Hill's story.
Each student produced an original zine, a type of small, self-published book characterized by a DIY aesthetic, focused on either a specific house or former resident of Bunker Hill. In this historical context, the zine enabled students to remix archival sources and connect the past to their own story.
The student-created zines will be donated to the Los Angeles Public Library, where they will become part of the circulating collection, ensuring that both the history of Bunker Hill and the students' interpretations of that history remain publicly accessible.
The results of the Zine Academy exceeded all expectations, with each student producing work that brought forgotten voices back to life.
Sadie’s zine, “Debunkin’ Bunker Hill,” was inspired by the Haufe family archive at the USC Libraries’ Special Collections. The collection contains photographs, newspaper clippings, and other material documenting the Hildreth Mansion, a Victorian home built around 1889 and restored by John and Mabel Haufe. The house, which the family called Hopecrest, was located at 357 South Hope Street. John and Mabel lived there with their daughter Carroll from 1946 to 1952. It was demolished by the CRA in 1954 to make way for the 110 freeway off ramp at 4th Street.
Ashley, another Zine Academy participant, structured her zine as a five-clue mystery that revealed the history of the "Dome Apartments” on Grand Avenue. Each clue provided information about the building, its residents, and what happened after demolition. In her zine’s conclusion, Ashley directly confronted the legacy of displacement that continues to shape Los Angeles today by noting that, “urban renewal disguised displacement as progress . . . Behind every demolished building is a story of separation, lost bonds, and generations forced to start over.”
According to official records, approximately 8,000 people were displaced when the homes on Bunker Hill were torn down. Ashley, Sadie, Carlos, and the other Zine Academy participants brought the stories of these former residents to life. This is an important correction to a narrative often told only through policy or architectural histories.
By engaging high school students as co-creators rather than passive recipients of historical knowledge, the Bunker Hill Refrain Zine Academy demonstrates how collaboration between universities, libraries, and community organizations can create meaningful experiences that both educate students and preserve important historical narratives for future generations.
The Academy also represents a model for university-community partnerships, one that transforms historical scholarship into public education while empowering young people to become advocates for social justice.
“Personally, I can't think of a better outcome," says Drake Reitan. “We were so excited to see the students make these larger connections. Each zine weaves together personal stories with local history and will make a lasting contribution to the public record.”