In Print - Museum Media (Selected)

White Fence. Graciela Iturbide.

Graciela Iturbide revisits the predominantly Mexican American community of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, home of the legendary White Fence gang. The title refers to the historical street gang known as White Fence that has held established territory in Boyle Heights since 1900. They were one of the most violent Eastside gangs of the 20th century..

Starting with the photographs that Iturbide took in 1986 on assignment for the magazine A Day in the Life of America and culminating in a reunion in 2019, this publication is divided into two volumes.

In 1986, Margaret was asked to find a suitable candidate for Graciela to shoot for the article. Margaret introduced Graciela to her niece, a member of White Fence. What is remarkable about this story is that members of this White Fence clique were deaf and used sign language to communicate. For these folks use of hand signs were not just about gang signs.

Graciela refers to Margaret as the madrina (godmother) of this work and dedicates several pages in the book to Margaret.