![]() Then, as now, the Cal State LA campus was walking distance from the largest urban Mexican American community in the United States. Community members organized and protested, demanding improvements in education, an expansion of farm workers’ rights, recognition of issues important to Mexican Americans and an end to the war in Vietnam, where Chicanos were dying in large numbers. In the late 1960s, Los Angeles was a focal point of a burgeoning Chicano civil rights movement that was sweeping across the southwest United States. Assemblymembers Wendy Carrillo, a Cal State LA alumna, and Chris Holden also recognized Huerta at the reception. Covino, launched a yearlong series of events honoring the department’s legacy of academic achievements, creative projects and public service. Her address and an afternoon reception in the Cal State LA Fine Arts Gallery, where Huerta was presented a commendation and commemorative work of art by Cal State LA President William A. ![]() When you get an education, your voice gets louder.” So let’s celebrate Chicano studies by making more history. “When we talk about our history, we are talking about the history of the United States of America,” she said. “She is one of the principal architects of the social justice movement.”Ĭhicano studies programs were key elements of that movement, Huerta told the crowd. Huerta “inspired a generation of activists,” Richelle Huizar said. Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar, whose 14th District includes Cal State LA, and Commissioner Richelle Huizar from the City of Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women, announced a plan to name an intersection in Boyle Heights “Dolores Huerta Square.” Video: Chicana punk legend Alice Bag performs original song for Dolores HuertaĬhicana punk rock legend and Cal State LA alumna Alice Bag performed a song she wrote to honor Huerta for her pioneering work with the United Farm Workers and her activism on behalf of women’s rights. Bag was accompanied by La Victoria, a mariachi trio. Video: Inaugural lecture by Dolores Huerta marking 50 years of Chicano studies at Cal State LA “It was actually right here in the city of Los Angeles where the Chicano movement started,” she said. Huerta took the audience in the packed Golden Eagle ballroom through lessons in history, politics and economics, with stories from more than 60 years on the frontlines of social justice crusades. On September 6, Cal State LA marked the 50th anniversary of Chicano studies with an inaugural lecture by legendary civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. Its graduates have contributed immeasurably to the region and the university. Today, the department, housed in the College of Natural and Social Sciences, offers more than 150 courses, taught by scholars from across a wide range of disciplines. It’s important that students today understand what it took to get here.” “It emerged as a part of the civil rights movement, but it’s part of an intellectual movement as well. “This program exists because there has been struggle,” said Dolores Delgado Bernal, chair of what is now the Department of Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies. But its very existence was a testament to the vision of the university and the activism of committed students, faculty and staff, who wanted a curriculum that valued Mexican American history, culture and contributions. ![]() The fledgling program-called Mexican American Studies-offered just four courses. ![]() City Councilmember Huizar announces intersection named in Huerta’s honorīy Sandy Banks | Cal State LA News Serviceįifty years ago, against a backdrop of student protests and community unrest, Cal State LA established the first Chicano studies program in the nation.Īt the time, only about 4 percent of the university’s students were Mexican American.
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