In 1954 and in the many years since, I’ve never given much thought to the mix of students in my third grade class in Los Nietos Elementary School in Los Angeles. That is until I gave a lecture on disability issues several years ago and showed this photograph of me with a brace on my right leg sitting among my classmates. The instructor was surprised and told me afterwards how rare it is to see an integrated school. They were just my class mates with whom I studied, played and lived. In the seventy plus years since, I’ve moved many times losing touch with them but many remain vivid in my memory. This folding book pays tribute to them, Class of ‘54. Each portrait is set against a background of a dictionary page for the word “youth.” We were young then. Archival Pigment Ink on Rag Paper, linen thread and beads.
