At the end of World War II, Los Angeles faced the need for another city college to accommodate the vast numbers of servicemen returning from deployment.

Arthur Baum, the editor of the East Los Angeles Tribune, led a citizens' committee, composed of presidents of various clubs and organizations in the community.

The committee included Principal D. Raymond Brothers of Garfield High School, County Supervisor Smith, Superintendent Kersey, and several industrial leaders.

They presented the proposition of establishing a junior college to the Los Angeles City Board of Education in a special meeting on March 1, 1945.

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted in favor, leading to the establishment of a Junior College on the Garfield High School campus in June 1945.

[4] On March 22, 2021, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors officially approved the South Gate Campus as an 'education center.

In 1957, inspired by the students' spirit and the community's need to experience original artworks firsthand, Vincent and Mary Grant Price donated 90 pieces from their private collection to establish the museum.

[6] In 1974, Roberto Esteban Chavez painted The Path to Knowledge and the False University, a 200-foot mural on the East Los Angeles Community College campus,[7] where he served as an arts educator and chair of the Chicano Studies department.

The stadium also hosts the annual "East L.A. Classic" football game, featuring a matchup between Garfield and Theodore Roosevelt High School.

This event traditionally draws over 20,000 fans, with notable figures like U.S. Senate candidate Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez even in attendance at the 2016 game.