A diverse cast of residents past and present discuss the challenges faced by the neighborhood of Boyle Heights. This is an example of the importance of documentaries as the image of working class multi-cultural neighborhoods are often colored through the lens of mainstream media's fixation with gang violence and street crime. This is a film that instead highlights the soul of the neighborhood, it's people and their shared history, as well as the the social and economic forces at play, and those fighting for equality and opportunity for the people of East LA.
The film does a good job of educating the viewer on the impacts redlining and white flight have had historically on the neighborhood, while advancing the conversation on environmental racism and the impacts that freeways have had on the communities which they cut through and, for the drivers, past without a second thought. For those from the neighborhood however their persists a deep affection for Boyle Heights as a beacon against the homogenous suburban sprawl and a place for working people of every background to gather together and live in solidarity.
The film does a good job of educating the viewer on the impacts redlining and white flight have had historically on the neighborhood, while advancing the conversation on environmental racism and the impacts that freeways have had on the communities which they cut through and, for the drivers, past without a second thought. For those from the neighborhood however their persists a deep affection for Boyle Heights as a beacon against the homogenous suburban sprawl and a place for working people of every background to gather together and live in solidarity.