coming spring 2025
Be the first to know when Crenshaw Chronicles launches.
Get exclusive updates and early access.
"If he goes to Crenshaw, I won't be going to any games," Mother proclaimed.
Coach Daddy's response was, "That's okay, I'll let you know what happened."
And with that, the Crenshaw Culture would become embedded in my psyche, a part of my DNA as an athlete. And this conscious awareness became my blueprint of the benefits of maximum effort and overcoming adversity.
— Marques Johnson, Author
This is history as it should be told: in the voices of those who made it.
When Crenshaw High School opened its doors in January 1968, South Central Los Angeles was in the midst of profound transformation. Built as the flagship school in a rapidly growing Black neighborhood—a deliberate reversal of LA's long history of educational segregation—Crenshaw would become witness to five decades of change that reshaped a community, a city, and the lives of everyone who passed through its gates.
The Crenshaw Chronicles documents this extraordinary journey through the memories of those who lived it. Compiled by five-time NBA All-Star Marques Johnson—himself a 1973 Crenshaw graduate who played under legendary Coach Willie West before becoming UCLA's final John Wooden All-American—this oral history captures the evolution of one of Los Angeles's most significant educational institutions through the voices of the community it served.
Here are voices rarely heard in traditional histories: students who built a new school's identity from scratch, choosing its colors and its Cougar mascot; young people navigating the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination and the rise of Black consciousness; families witnessing the school transform from rowdy newcomer to academic and athletic powerhouse; and generation after generation who claimed excellence as their birthright. From Klymaxx founder Cheryl Cooley to MLB star Darryl Strawberry to bestselling author and sociologist Dr. Joy DeGruy, their stories reveal how education, community, and resilience intersect—and how one school became the heartbeat of South Central LA.
About marques johnson
The Crenshaw Chronicles documents this extraordinary journey through the memories of those who lived it. Compiled by five-time NBA All-Star Marques Johnson—himself a 1973 Crenshaw graduate who played under legendary Coach Willie West before becoming UCLA's final John Wooden All-American—this oral history captures the evolution of one of Los Angeles's most significant educational institutions through the voices of the community it served.