 In the mid-1970s, Baca was approached by the Army Corps of Engineers about beautifying the Tujunga Flood Control Channel. I looked at the river and I thought, wow, I've been painting in each neighborhood and never do these neighborhoods meet. We're a totally segregated city. So the kids who were in East Los Angeles never met the kids in South Central. The South Central kids never met the kids in the Thai community or the Japanese community.