From the parking lot, beyond the fence there is a building that reads: LIFE. These four letters are painted blue and rise high above the Manual Arts High School garden; they are freckled with windows and air conditioners, open blinds in classrooms that have been letting in the sun for more than a century since Manual Arts was built.
Beyond the fence, from the parking lot you can see the windows to room 263 in Doolittle Hall. This room has seen years of gum-chewing artists; names of students like Jackson Pollock have been heard within these walls. A dedicated art teacher, Mark Ayala, once gathered artists from the community to imprint the hallway with colors of South Los Angeles street art–a testament to the neighborhoods that students’ call home. It was a gift to his students, before he left the school. This room tells stories.
“Welcome to The Writers’ Room” is painted on a canvas that hangs over the open door of room 263–826LA’s newest portal into another decade. Ana Serrano, a Los Angeles-based artist whose work has been featured at LACMA and MOLAA, captures the vibrancy felt inside this classroom in the turquoise and gold hues of this canvas sign. Upon entering you are transported to an episode of “The Wonder Years,” your grandmother’s living room, or to a gallery of renowned artists in tempera paint. The Writers’ Room is alive with color.
For the past two years, 826LA has supported students at Manual Arts High School through the College Center. The journey began with one dry erase board, a donated couch, and a few desks–that, and the tenacity of AmeriCorps VISTA members, 826LA staff, and many volunteers. They worked closely with staff like Maricela Saavedra, a passionate college counselor at Manual Arts. “Sometimes it’s the first time someone is asking [students] to tell their story,” Saavedra says about students working with 826LA volunteers. “They have a powerful experience. You can see it in their faces.”
The third year at Manual Arts High has seen many new faces, like that of new Principal, Ms. Erica Thomas. The word she has used to inspire the goals for the new year is “intention.” Reaching the soul of a story and engaging those teenage writers that have not heard their own voice are intentions that are fulfilled everyday in the Writers’ Room. Upon leaving a Personal Statement session, a student said, “Thanks miss, I didn’t know it was justice that I wanted,” after working with a tutor and discovering how her dreams of wanting to help her community connected to her experiences. Another student told the story of how she paints herself motivational posters with “unconventional materials”: make-up that she is given by others and refuses to use.
Room 263 opened its doors in late August. A flurry of staples and eraser shreds were cleaned from the counters, carpets were unfurled and quotes from the book Beyond the Gates and Fences written by Manual Arts students were hung on the wall. The quote “South LA will always run through my veins” hangs underneath red letters and numbers: 8 2 6 L A.
The Writers’ Room has stories. It’s been one month since its doors opened, and in that time students have traveled through memories of their own history. What they find is a portrait of themselves: a life colored in perseverance and passion, laughter, and fiery bravery.
The opening of the Writers’ Room at Manual Arts High School would not have been possible without the support of Principal Erica Thomas and Manual Arts staff, LA’s Promise, AmeriCorps VISTA, and 826LA’s donors and funders. Interested in becoming part of 826LA’s Writers’ Room at Manual Arts High School? Read more about our In-School Program here or sign up to volunteer.