Series:

Mexican American Civil Rights Pioneers: Historical Roots of an Activist Generation

Topic:

Latina and Latino History

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.

Interviewer:

Espino, Virginia

Interviewee:

Sanchez, Dolores

Place Conducted:

Eastern Group Publications offices in Highland Park, California.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Virginia Espino, Program Coordinator for Latina and Latino History, UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research; B.A., psychology, UC Santa Cruz; Ph.D., history, Arizona State University.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. It was transcribed by a professional transcribing agency using a list of proper names and specialized terminology supplied by the interviewer. Sanchez was then given an opportunity to review the transcript but made no corrections or additions.

Length:

11.5 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

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 prior to 1960. Represented groups include a wide range of activists, including labor, political, and educational activists. Their combined experience underscores war-time community life and outlines the historical precursors to the Chicano Movement.

Great-grandfather’s family roots and his early life–-Great-grandfather moves to New York to play baseball-–Great- grandfather goes to work in Arizona to build a spur-– How Surprise, Arizona got its name-–Great-grandfather meets future wife, Modesta, and they decide to run away and get married-–Great-grandfather’s stories-–Grandmother’s early life-–Maternal family tree--Grandmother’s life after marriage and period of extensive travel--Mother’s early childhood--Father joins the navy in 1940 and mother goes to work in defense plants-- Mother’s belief in unions--Father comes back from the war as an alcoholic, soon passing away--Times spent with her father--A first episode with racism--Life during the war and the lifestyle of that time--Paternal grandmother--Religion in family and the values Sanchez learned as a child--The value of work for her family--Learns perfectionism from her parents--Father's combat experience--The sudden disappearance of the Japanese from Los Angeles--The Japanese come back to Los Angeles as if nothing had happened--Experience during the war with sailors--Personal independence since a little girl--Experience with Japanese people--Childhood and her family--Meeting people from different cultures--Bunker Hill gets redeveloped--Catholic school system.

Attends Catholic school--Parents' participation in community--Union activities--Latino participation in unions--Style of education at Catholic school--No usage of the word “immigrant” while growing up in a diverse community--Lesson learned at school--Personal liberty while growing up--Education first and then responsibilities--Catholic school expands despite tight finances--The religious calling of the nuns--Celebration of the Virgin Mary--Teachings at Catholic school about members of the Jewish faith--The Jewish community in Bunker Hill.

Family is evicted from their home in Bunker Hill--What it meant to be educated by nuns--Forms of discipline at home--Mother's physical appearance and where the family would get their clothes and accessories--The responsibilities inherent in being the oldest--Parents' separation--Mother's silence about her work experience--Attends school in the Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln Heights--Differences between the educational philosophy of the Immaculate Heart of Mary nuns and that of the nuns of the Dominican order.

Activism and participation in unions with her mother--Goals and dreams in comparison with those of her mother’s-- Gets married and supports ambitious husband and his business--First husband--Growing up Catholic and life as a married woman--Raising her children while helping her husband in his business--Relocates both home and business--More on raising her children--The lack of a sense of danger out in the streets while growing up--Her sheltered life as a child growing up in Bunker Hill--The presence of alcohol in her life--Reaction on the part of the Bunker Hill community to "pachucos"--Family's reactions to the "pachuco" riots--The lives of two aunts--Introduction to computers--Mother’s education and work life--Moving to Hillside Village--The ease of buying real estate in the past--An emphasis on the best education for her kids--Begins the Mexican American Grocers Association with her ex-husband--Involvement with Mexican American Political Association (MAPA)--MAPA’s purpose--Becomes associated with communism because of relationships with people such as Dorothy Healey--The relationship between MAPA and the Democratic Party--Issues with public education--The lack of activism among minority groups--A parents' responsibility to send their kids to school--Works for the United Farm Workers (UFW) and Cesar Chavez--Serves as the president of the Chicana Service Action Center--Issues with women being on welfare.

Diversity in MAPA--Discrimination against minorities and efforts to prevent them from buying homes--Role in MAPA--Deals with push back in efforts to get Mexican Americans elected for office--Works for the Women’s Commission on Civic Government--Difficulties in getting women into the fire department--The Antonio Villaraigosa mayoral campaign--The issue of the annexation of East L.A to Los Angeles-- Rapid turnover of businesses in Highland Park--Gentrification in Bunker Hill--Chavez Ravine and Dodger Stadium--That L.A. Live was built downtown and not on Elysian Park was a big accomplishment for community activists--Her role in the development of the newspaper MAPA Outlook--MAPA 40th and its membership--Difficulties in being an activist and having to take care of her family--Controversy about a spy in MAPA from the Los Angeles police department--Dangers active members of MAPA faced from police, the community and in their jobs--Process of registering people to vote and how MAPA became a respectable political organization--Politicians begin to see that MAPA's endorsement is valuable.

The younger generation of women in MAPA start to pursue leadership positions--The different views on abortion between two generations--Expectations for her children-- Reading as an important part of her family’s life--More on her children--Ideas that one forms as a result of growing up Catholic--The organization of fundraisers for MAPA--Disagreements over the terms "Chicano", "Latino," and "Hispanic"--A dislike for the LA Times--Opinions on other newspapers--Dealing with divorce as a Catholic--The walkouts and their leaders-- Vahac Mardirosian and Bert Corona--The challenges that occur when Mexican Americans marry Anglo women--Getting involved with the farm workers and the UFW--Why MAPA endorsed Julian Nava and how things changed at that point--Difficulties being part of the Status of Women Commission-- Thoughts on Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. and his ideas--More on the MAPA endorsement of Julian Nava--Thoughts on people leaving Congress to return home--Her relationship with her husband, a Republican--Types of stories that have been covered by her newspapers--Encounters problems due to the endorsement of the teachers' union--Problems with the education system and dealing with immigrant students--Thoughts on bilingual education in schools.

Changes that occurred between the sixties and the seventies--The importance of the John F. Kennedy presidential campaign for the Mexican American community--The impact of the Watts riots on organizations--Ron Dellums and Mayor Tom Bradley--Forming the Bradley "blue ribbon committee"-- Changes after President Kennedy is killed and President Lyndon Johnson assumes office--Working for Tom Bradley’s administration after his election--Women begin to assume leadership roles--The Jimmy Carter presidential campaign appoints more women to powerful positions--Political consideration of affiliations while being part of a campaign-- Joins Students for a Democracy Society (SDS)--SDS's awareness of Mexican-American issues--Differences in viewpoint with her colleagues on some issues--The importance of Manpower programs--Issues with unemployment compensation for small businesses--Participates in the start of the Mexican American Grocers Association--Struggles Latino markets faced and the development of a salvage grocery business--The political views of Raza Unida Party--The qualities a candidate must have to be endorsed in the current climate--Ideas implemented by La Raza magazine and newspaper--The barriers to informing the community on pertinent issues, such as the sterilization of women--The transition from one generation of political activists to another.

Works with the Chicana Service Action Center--The difficulties in branching out from Comisión Femenil--Develops programs for Chicana Service and adds staff members--The difference between Chicana Service Action Center and Comisión Femenil--The generation gap on issues--Tensions emerge after the separation of Chicana Service from Comisión Femenil-- How Chicana Service recruited women and the dangers they exposed themselves to-- The activism of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta--The impact the activism of Cesar Chavez had on a wide range of ethnic groups-- Achievements of Manpower programs through the years--Temptations when dealing with large amounts of money--Challenging the system and making a revolution for the Latino community--Her divorce--The impact of her divorce on the newspaper--Difficulties when deciding what political candidates to support or endorse-- Changing attitudes among the younger generation--Issues that immigrants and the Latino community face--The intractable nature of many of these issues--Contemplates a possible end for the newspaper--The role of the newspaper in helping people get started with their careers--How the newspaper works and its leadership--The changes to the newspaper over the years--Building infrastructure, such as the Letters to Santa Program--Organizations the newspaper works with-- Working to change the state statutes in order to better serve the community--Felix Gutierrez--Daughter, Gloria, starts to work at the newspaper--Second husband's position at the newspaper--Finding and training staff--Technology and social media-–Disputes between the women in Chicana Service and those in Comisión Femenil.