Oral Histories

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1. Interview of Hope Mendoza Schechter

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Community Activism
Length:
6 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Community Service Organization, commonly known as the CSO, was founded in 1947 as a civil rights advocacy group that boasted a multi-ethnic membership. Individuals selected for this oral history series resided in Los Angeles during the 1940s and joined the Community Service Organization durin...
Biographical Note:
Co-founder of the Chicano civil rights group the Community Service Organization. First Mexican American woman organizer and business agent for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), founding member of the California Democratic Council, and a political appointee of the Lyndon B. J...

2. Interview of Marian Graff

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Community Activism
Length:
5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Community Service Organization, commonly known as the CSO, was founded in 1947 as a civil rights advocacy group that boasted a multi-ethnic membership. Individuals selected for this oral history series resided in Los Angeles during the 1940s and joined the Community Service Organization durin...
Biographical Note:
Involved in voter registration and fund raising with the Chicano civil rights group the Community Service Organization. President of the El Sereno chapter of the Independent Progressive Party.

3. Interview of Harvey Schechter

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Community Activism
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Community Service Organization, commonly known as the CSO, was founded in 1947 as a civil rights advocacy group that boasted a multi-ethnic membership. Individuals selected for this oral history series resided in Los Angeles during the 1940s and joined the Community Service Organization durin...
Biographical Note:
Anti-Defamation League's Pacific Southwest regional director of civil rights and fact-finding. Involved with the Chicano civil rights group the Community Service Organization.

4. Interview of Jesse Marquez

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Environmental Movement
Length:
8.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The series documents environmental activism in the Los Angeles area from the 1970s through to the present day. The majority of interviews are with either founders or knowledgeable participants in major regional environmental organizations. Represented groups embody a wide range of issues, includi...
Biographical Note:
Founder of Coalition for a Safe Environment, which fought port pollution in Wilmington, California. Participant in THE (Trade, Health, Environment) Impact Project, an organization focused on the community health impact of the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.

5. Interview of Rosa Batres

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Environmental Movement
Length:
4 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The series documents environmental activism in the Los Angeles area from the 1970s through to the present day. The majority of interviews are with either founders or knowledgeable participants in major regional environmental organizations. Represented groups embody a wide range of issues, includi...
Biographical Note:
Outreach coordinator for the South Bay Center for Counseling. Activist in the area of port pollution and clean air and member of the Community Partners Council and Cesar Chavez Mother's Brigade.

6. Interview of Ben Margolis

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Civil Liberties
Sleepy Lagoon Case
Length:
24 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:

7. Interview of Mike Hernandez

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Politics and Government
Length:
8.75 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Biographical Note:
Political activist and 1st District Los Angeles City Council member from 1991 to 2001.

8. Interview of Luis "Louie" Durán

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Labor Movement
Length:
8 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Biographical Note:
Union activist with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 member.

9. Interview of José Quiroga

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Central Americans in Southern California
Length:
6.75 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Biographical Note:
Physician to Chilean president Salvador Allende. Volunteer at Venice Family Clinic in Los Angeles, treating torture victims. Faculty at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

10. Interview of Policarpo Chaj

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Central Americans in Southern California
Length:
4 hrs.
Language:
Spanish
Audio:
Biographical Note:
Founder of Maya Vision, a binational social service agency that serves the needs of the Mayan community in Southern California.

11. Interview of Cheryl Noralez

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Central Americans in Southern California
Length:
4 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Belize. Activist, writer, and leader in the Garifuna community. Founding member of the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation, a cultural center that offers classes and public programs that help maintain the Garifuna culture in Los Angeles.

12. Interview of Ramón Holguín

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
15 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Member of the Chicano Moratorium Committee, and involved in the creation of the Chicano Studies Department at California State University, Northridge.

13. Interview of Raúl Ruíz

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
15 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Journalist, photographer, and editor for La Raza, a Chicano-movement newspaper. Ran for office as a candidate of the first and only Mexican American political party, La Raza Unida Party.

14. Interview of Anna Nieto Gomez

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
24 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Founder of Hijas de Cuauhtemoc, Encuentro Feminil, and La Feminista, publications focused on issues relating to feminism and the Chicana community. Created a Chicana studies curriculum at California State University, Northridge, served as assistant professor in their Chicano studies department.

15. Interview of Cruz Olmeda Becerra

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
10 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Co-founder of the Brown Berets who protested against unfair conditions in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Founder of the cultural nationalist group, La Junta.

16. Interview of Joe Razo

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Member in the Chicano Blowouts. Co-editor, writer, and photographer for La Raza, a Chicano-movement newspaper.

17. Interview of Lydia Lopez

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
10 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Member of Católicos por La Raza protests. Involved in the sanctuary movement in Los Angeles, the resettlement of refugees from Central America.

18. Interview of Irene Tovar

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
11.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Chicano movement activist, member of the Los Angeles County Mexican American Education Committee. Founding member of the Latin American Civic Association. Involved in the creation of a Chicano studies department at California State University, Northridge.

19. Interview of David Sanchez

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
13 hrs.
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Founding member of the Brown Berets. Key organizer of the Chicano Moratorium Committee and the Chicano Blowouts.

20. Interview of Félix Gutiérrez

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
9.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
University of Southern California professor of journalism and communication. University of Southern California professor of american studies and ethnicity. First executive director of the California Chicano News Media Association and senior vice president of the Freedom Forum and the Newseum.

21. Interview of Phillip Castruita

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
9 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Founding member of the United Mexican American Students (UMAS) organization at California State University, Los Angeles. Chicano studies professor, helped implement Chicano studies program in higher education.

22. Interview of Gloria Arellanes (2011)

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
9 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Minister of finance and correspondence of the Brown Beret organization's founding chapter. Administrator of El Barrio Free Clinic and member of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee.

23. Interview of Ricardo Muñoz

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
10 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Los Angeles lawyer and administrative law judge with the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Important in the fight for a living wage ordinance and for a new high school.

24. Interview of Victoria Castro

Topic:
Social Movements
Latina and Latino History
Chicano Movement
Length:
10 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Founding member of the Brown Berets, and key organizer of the Chicano Blowouts. Became the second Latina member of the LA School Board.

25. Interview of Carlos Montes

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
16 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Founding member of the Brown Berets, and key organizer of the Chicano Blowouts. Member of La Vida Nueva and the movement to establish the Chicano Studies program at East Los Angeles College.

26. Interview of Martha Palacios

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
3.5 hrs
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
An organizer and leader of the Chicana/o student movement at CSULA from 1969 to 1973, and one of the leaders of the Comisión Feminil chapter at CalState LA as well as La Vida Nueva at East Los Angeles College.

27. Interview of Ruth Robinson Rivera

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
4.5 hrs
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Organizer with United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez and instructor for teatro campesino courses in Mexican American studies department at San Diego Sate University. Later known as Taru Ruth Rivera

28. Interview of Vahac Mardirosian

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
7 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Chairman of the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee (EICC) during the Chicano Blowouts. Founder of the Hispanic Urban Center Board of Education and the Parent Institute for Quality Education.

29. Interview of Rosalio Muñoz

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
25 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
Mexican American activist and co-chair of the Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War.

30. Interview of Roger Wood

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Chicano Movement
Length:
7.5 hrs
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The interviews in this series document the ideological transformation of the Chicana and Chicano generation in Los Angeles. Dissatisfied with their position in U.S. society, Chicana and Chicano activists built a civil rights movement from the ground up. Interviewees were selected based on their e...
Biographical Note:
One of the central clergy in the Church of the Epiphany in Lincoln Heights during the 1960s and 1970s. Played a contributing role in the church's involvement with the Chicana/o Movement.

31. Interview of Lilia Aceves

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
14 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Founder of the Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional and first director of the Chicana Action Service Center. Activist in the Cooperative Nursery School Movement.

32. Interview of Grace Montañez Davis (2008)

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
11 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Member of the Community Service Organization. Administrative assistant to member of the U.S. House of Representatives, George E. Brown, Jr. and first Mexican-American woman to serve as deputy mayor of Los Angeles.

33. Interview of Lupe Anguiano

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
16.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Organizer for the United Farm Workers and founder of National Women’s Employment & Education Inc., which helps single mothers move out of poverty. Co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus.

34. Interview of Dolores Sanchez

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
11.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Co-founder, publisher, and editor in chief of Eastern Group Publications, a Hispanic newspaper company. Member of the Mexican American Political Association, the Chicana Service Action Center, and Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional.

35. Interview of Esteban Torres

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
17 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for southeastern Los Angeles County and organizer for the United Automobile Workers union. The United States ambassador to UNESCO, and special assistant to the president for Hispanic affairs.

36. Interview of Julian Nava

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
12 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
United States Ambassador to Mexico. First Mexican American member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education and California State University, Northridge professor of history.

37. Interview of Geraldine Zapata

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
11 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Activist on educational issues and member of the Mexican American Education Committee. Member of One Stop Immigration, which provides legal services to immigrants.

38. Interview of Ralph Arriola

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Length:
14 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The purpose of this series is to document the social justice activism of the Mexican American generation and to explore family and community life in war-time Los Angeles. Individuals selected for this series resided in Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s and began their civic participation pri...
Biographical Note:
Executive Director of the Latin American Civic Association and member of the United Automobile Workers union. Director of community and government relations at Options for Youth, an independent study charter school program.

39. Interview of Carlos Haro

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
UCLA and University of California History
UCLA Research Centers and Programs
Length:
4 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the rise of Chicano studies at UCLA and the founding of the Chicano Studies Research Center. Interviewees were involved in Chicano studies in the late 1960s and early ‘70s as students, faculty, or staff.
Biographical Note:
Postdoctoral scholar in residence and assistant director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. As a student at UCLA, was involved in the Chicano student movement on campus and the drive for the establishment of the research center.

40. Interview of Teresa McKenna

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
UCLA and University of California History
UCLA Research Centers and Programs
Length:
3.75 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the rise of Chicano studies at UCLA and the founding of the Chicano Studies Research Center. Interviewees were involved in Chicano studies in the late 1960s and early ‘70s as students, faculty, or staff.
Biographical Note:
University of Southern California professor of English. Editor of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center’s journal, Aztlan. As a student at UCLA, was involved in the Chicano student movement on campus and the drive for the establishment of the research center.

41. Interview of Sandra Sewell

Topic:
Latina and Latino History
Social Movements
Women's Issues
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
Women’s Activist Lives in Los Angeles is a series of interviews done by graduate research assistants under the auspices of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Women. The series addresses the diverse ways in which women’s social movement activities affected public policy and transformed civic institut...
Biographical Note:
Activist for labor, children, and women’s rights. Executive director of Centro de Niños, a bicultural, bilingual children’s center.