The California Documentary Project Returns
A renewed commitment to California stories, documentary storytellers, and the communities whose experiences shape our understanding of the state. After a short pause, the California Documentary Project is returning. This […]
Making Space to Think Together
This summer, California Humanities staff stepped away from our usual routines for something we don’t always get enough of: time to think, learn, and simply be together. Hosted by the […]
When California’s Stories Meet Our Own
By Alexandria Ybarra Experiencing American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez alongside my grandmother—who came of age in the barrio of the San Fernando Valley and whose own journey toward […]
Across California
Every Connecting California grant begins with a simple idea: when people come together to share stories, communities grow stronger. This month, California Humanities awarded $40,000 through the second round of […]
Stories in Motion
Reclaiming Our Stories continues its journey. Some stories aren’t meant to stay in one place. This month, we’re proud to launch Reclaiming Our Stories: Reflecting on the Land, a new […]
From Our Community
By Shonda Moore California has a way of surprising me. Although I didn’t grow up here, I’ve come to appreciate that some of the state’s most remarkable stories aren’t the […]
History Matters: A California Humanities Statement
California Humanities supports the thoughtful essay In Defense of Public History, published by Zócalo Public Square and co-authored by historian William Deverell, USC Professor of History and former California Humanities […]
El Pachuco Comes Home: A California Story Returns
Written by David Alvarado What does a culture choose to keep, perform, and pass on? In June 1943, mobs of servicemen swept through Los Angeles for days, attacking the young […]
Stories, Songs, and Futures of Sovereignty Welcoming Staff to California Humanities
Written by Alexandria Ybarra On Saturday, June 26, Native and non-Native Communities across the ancestral lands now known as California gathered at the Autry Museum of the American West for […]
A Budget That Stabilizes, But Doesn’t Fully Rebuild
California’s newly signed 2026–27 state budget is being presented as a stabilization budget: balanced for the next two years, supported by reserves, and designed to delay some of the deepest […]