Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los AngelesMain MenuResearch of the DecadesResearch1960s Illustration DevelopmentIllustration DevelopmentPlaylists of the DecadesPlaylistssparcinla.org185fc5b2219f38c7b63f42d87efaf997127ba4fcGreat Wall Institute - Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
12022-07-15T23:14:59+00:00Isabel Duron4726413e2c4e6b64fa62c586b1a781ab2c26d578Maria Elena Durazo Brief Childhood Summary6Background Research - Timelineplain2022-07-21T17:40:48+00:00Isabel Duron4726413e2c4e6b64fa62c586b1a781ab2c26d578
1media/005_La-Ofrenda-1024x669-820x536.jpg2021-12-02T22:00:00+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491968 The United Farm Workers /Hunger Strike51968plain2022-01-07T02:41:39+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Breaking Bread CC and RFK_thumb.JPG2022-01-07T03:03:00+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491966 Breaking Bread3Ending his 23-day fast in support of the Union’s strike against grape growers, United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez (R) breaks bread with Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in this 1966 photo. Chavez said that Kennedy legitimized his union’s cause by lending his support. On 19th February, 1968, Cesar Chavez, the trade union leader, began a hunger strike in protest against the violence being used against his members in California. Robert F. Kennedy went to the San Joaquin Valley to give Chavez his support and told waiting reporters: “I am here out of respect for one of the heroic figures of our time – Cesar Chavez. I congratulate all of you who are locked with Cesar in the struggle for justice for the farm worker and in the struggle for justice for Spanish-speaking Americans.” On March 10 Robert F. Kennedy flew to California to help Chavez end a 25-day fast, offered as public penance for the violence that had resulted from his union's strike tactics. Chavez, who had lost 35 pounds in 25 days, was too weak to speak at the Mass of Thanksgiving in his honor. But someone read his speech, which included the following words: "It is how we use our lives that determines what kind of men we are... I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totallymedia/Breaking Bread CC and RFK.JPGplain2022-01-07T03:07:53+00:001966Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
12022-02-07T23:18:54+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a492000 - Immigrants Rights Rally at LA Sports Arena2Contreras organized one of the largest immigrant-rights rallies in U.S. history, when 20,000 immigrant workers of all colors filled the Sports Arena in June 2000.plain2022-02-07T23:30:02+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Chicano Moratorium_thumb.jpeg2021-12-02T01:37:56+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491970 Anti War Protest21970media/Chicano Moratorium.jpegplain2022-07-14T23:14:20+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Cesar and RFK_thumb.png2022-01-07T02:57:13+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491968 RFK and Cesar Chavez2Ending his 23-day fast in support of the Union’s strike against grape growers, United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez (R) breaks bread with Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in this 1966 photo. Chavez said that Kennedy legitimized his union’s cause by lending his support. On 19th February, 1968, Cesar Chavez, the trade union leader, began a hunger strike in protest against the violence being used against his members in California. Robert F. Kennedy went to the San Joaquin Valley to give Chavez his support and told waiting reporters: “I am here out of respect for one of the heroic figures of our time – Cesar Chavez. I congratulate all of you who are locked with Cesar in the struggle for justice for the farm worker and in the struggle for justice for Spanish-speaking Americans.” On March 10 Robert F. Kennedy flew to California to help Chavez end a 25-day fast, offered as public penance for the violence that had resulted from his union's strike tactics. Chavez, who had lost 35 pounds in 25 days, was too weak to speak at the Mass of Thanksgiving in his honor. But someone read his speech, which included the following words: "It is how we use our lives that determines what kind of men we are... I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us be men." Note: sources have conflicting start and ending dates of this either 25 or 27 day fast on water only. (UPI Photo/Files)media/Cesar and RFK.pngplain2022-10-07T23:50:34+00:00February 1968Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 3.27.36 PM_thumb.png2022-10-07T22:29:42+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491960 JFK Campaign in San Jose2Sen. John Kennedy gestures as he emphasizes a point during his address to more than 12,000 people in San Jose, California, November 2, 1960. Big signs greeted the Democratic standard bearer. “While Kennedy acknowledged that Mexican-American votes in Texas were critical to his win over Nixon, he largely neglected the promises made to Viva Kennedy campaigners—particularly Mexican Americans—once in the White House. Without the unifying force of the campaign and its celebrity candidate, the alliance of Latinos that Viva Kennedy represented collapsed. Nevertheless, the Kennedy campaign of 1960 established the broad outlines of Latino politics in the years to come. It encouraged leaders in various Latino communities to see the presidential election as the foundation of a nationwide Latino political community, even as it appealed to members of those communities in different ways.”media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 3.27.36 PM.pngplain2022-10-07T22:48:39+00:00November 1960Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-12 at 3.20.30 PM_thumb.png2022-10-12T22:22:54+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491966 Dolores Huerta and Senator Robert Kennedy at a press conference1Dolores Huerta and Senator Robert Kennedy at a press conference celebrating the end of the 25-day fast by César Chávez, Delano, Californiamedia/Screen Shot 2022-10-12 at 3.20.30 PM.pngplain2022-10-12T22:22:54+00:00March 1966Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/John Oritz _thumb.jpeg2021-12-02T00:40:12+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49East Los Angeles Walk Outs1Chicano Movementmedia/John Oritz .jpegplain2021-12-02T00:40:12+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 5.22.16 PM_thumb.png2022-10-08T00:24:12+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491970 Pamphlet for Delano Grape Strike and Boycott1This pamphlet published by the United Farm Workers (UFW) union publicized and sought support for a boycott of non-union table grapes. The pamphlet asks consumers to look for the iconic UFW union label before buying grapes.media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 5.22.16 PM.pngplain2022-10-08T00:24:12+00:001970Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 5.14.13 PM_thumb.png2022-10-08T00:15:35+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491965 Protesting apart of the Delano Grape strike1“The Delano Grape Strike began on September 8, 1965, in protest to substandard wages being paid to predominantly Filipino farm workers of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. A week later, they were joined by the Mexican-American National Farmworkers Association, led by prominent labor leader Cesar Chavez, his elder brother Richard, and Dolores Huerta. Less than a year later, the two organizations merged to form the United Farm Workers – and more than 2,000 workers had joined the fight. Ultimately, the strike spread across North America and even Western Europe as consumers supported the workers by boycotting non-union grapes”media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 5.14.13 PM.pngplain2022-10-08T00:15:35+00:001965Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 5.03.49 PM_thumb.png2022-10-08T00:05:30+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491962 United Farm Workers Flag11962, September. 30: National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) first convention in Fresno. “The group’s distinctive flag, a black eagle symbol on a white circle in a red field, is unveiled”media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 5.03.49 PM.pngplain2022-10-08T00:05:30+00:00September 1962Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 3.33.18 PM_thumb.png2022-10-07T22:37:10+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491960 “Democratic Representative Adam Clayton Powell introducing Democratic Party presidential candidate JFK in front of the Hotel Theresa in Harlem during campaign1“Though led by Mexican Americans, all parties had an interest in extending the Viva Kennedy campaign’s reach far beyond its nucleus in the Southwest. In time, two Puerto Rican leaders from New York enlisted as Viva Kennedy co-chairmen. Their inclusion imparted the appearance of a truly national mobilization of the people John Kennedy sometimes referred to as ‘Latin Americans.’"media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 3.33.18 PM.pngplain2022-10-07T22:37:10+00:00October 1960Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 3.22.23 PM_thumb.png2022-10-07T22:24:19+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491960 Kennedy v. Nixon Latin opinion piece1“The Kennedy campaign confirmed that Mexican Americans were an emerging factor in national elections, and a new state of affairs in which they and their leaders no longer needed to deny their heritage to have a political voice.”media/Screen Shot 2022-10-07 at 3.22.23 PM.pngplain2022-10-07T22:24:19+00:001960Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/YoungLordsarchival-5b2aaccfba617700548e4dc1_thumb.jpeg2022-08-01T20:14:00+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491968: The Young Lord's Organization/Party1In 1968, José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez established the Young Lords Organization (YLO) at Lincoln Park, one of the most impoverished barrios of Chicago, Illinois. Modeled and inspired after the Black Panther Party (BPP), the YLO emerged from a Puerto Rican street gang to a community-based organization involved in advocating for minority access to healthcare, education, housing, and employment. The YLO was multiethnic and inclusive to African American, Latino/x, women, and LGBTQ membership, self-identified as “revolutionist nationalists” who rallied for Puerto Rico’s independence and power to the people, and adopted a 13 Point Program and Platform—a set of policies, responsibilities, and principles the organization lived by. The YLO expanded to other cities, including New York City, where a group of college students established a YLO chapter and renamed it the Young Lords Party (YLP). After World War II ended, thousands of Puerto Ricans migrated from the island to the U.S. mainland, particularly to New York and Chicago, where they established neighborhoods at Lincoln Park and East Harlem. Within these barrios, Puerto Ricans became vulnerable to discrimination, police brutality, lack of employment and education, and gentrification. Throughout the late 60s and early 70s, the Young Lords of Chicago rebranded from a street gang into a community-based organization. Similar to the BPP, the YLO’s structure of leadership consisted of various ministers who were responsible for specific committees, including education, health, and finance. The YLO of Chicago became more active after James Lamb, an off-duty officer, received no repercussions for killing Manuel Ramos, a YLO member, during a party. Under Jiménez, the YLO formed coalitions with other groups and expanded to New York’s East Harlem, where a group of first generation college students headed an independent chapter. The New York City chapter aroused national headlines during their Garbage Offensive. In retaliation to the city’s poor sanitation services, YLO members led a week-long neighborhood cleanup and burned a garbage pile in the middle of a street intersection, causing the arrival of the police and fire department at the scene. In New York and in Chicago, YLO members led a series of protests and building occupations, held free breakfast programs for children, which helped standardize the current federal children’s nutrition program, established free medical clinics, and created Puerto Rican cultural centers, celebrating the history and heritage of all Puertorriqueño/as. In addition, both chapters published a monthly newspaper to promote community services and events. By the late 1970s, the Young Lords Organization and Party retreated from their activities. In 1995, Cha-Cha Jiménez collaborated with DePaul University’s Center for Latino Research to create the Lincoln Park Project, which archives and documents the legacy of the YLO.media/YoungLordsarchival-5b2aaccfba617700548e4dc1.jpegplain2022-08-01T20:14:00+00:00Young Lords members march with a sign that reads, "The Party of the Young Lords serves and protects your people.". Iris Morales, ¡Palante, Siempre Palante!, 1996. Film.1968Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/UFW_thumb.jpeg2022-08-01T18:15:33+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491962 UFW (United Farm Workers) Formed1In 1962, the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), a predecessor of the United Farm Workers (UFW), was founded in Delano, California. Cesar Chávez, alongside Dolores Huerta and other Chicano activists within this organization, defended the rights of farmworkers by employing nonviolent organizing tactics rooted in Catholic social teaching, Chicano identity, and civil rights rhetoric. Through a series of marches, national consumer boycotts, and fasts, the United Farm Workers union attracted national headlines, gained labor contracts with higher wages and improved working conditions, galvanizing the Chicano movement. California’s agribusiness depended on a corporatized system of farm production supported by political allies that hired low-wage workers from Asian, Native, and/or Mexican populations. Farmworkers worked in dire conditions, including exposure to deadly chemicals, inadequate food and shelter, and sexual harassment, while receiving meager wages. Those who protested were replaced by Mexican braceros under the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program’s termination in 1964 led to labor union mobilization among farmworkers. The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) was formed in 1966 as a collaboration between the Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and the National Farm Workers Association. The union built partnerships with religious organizations, student and civil rights activists, and politicians, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. From 1966 to 1970, the UFWOC carried out a successful international consumer boycott on grapes by picketing outside of grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada and spreading awareness about the movement in Europe. Subsequent boycotts and strikes against lettuce and strawberry growers occurred during the following years. Strikes often led to law enforcement intervention, where farmworkers were beaten, jailed, or replaced by non-citizen laborers. Dolores Huerta is credited with negotiating thousands of labor contracts providing farmworkers with improved wages and working conditions. In 1972, the UFWOC renamed itself the United Farm Workers. By then, communities of farmworkers had been established across the U.S. In California, the UFW’s newspaper El Malcriado (“The Unruly One”) informed the community and provided them with job openings, and Luis Valdes’ El Teatro Campesino (“The Farmer’s Theatre”) offered short comedic skits performed by farmworkers. The UFW also established a federal credit union and union centers with medical care, pension, and voter registration services to its union members. Although the UFW is still operating, internal union strife, short-term labor contracts, and lack of federal legislation concerning farmworker rights have affected the progress of the union.media/UFW.jpegplain2022-08-01T18:15:33+00:001962Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Screen Shot 2022-07-21 at 12.19.45 PM_thumb.png2022-07-21T19:20:19+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a491962 United Farm Workers1For more than a century farmworkers had been denied a decent life in the fields and communities of California’s agricultural valleys. Essential to the state’s biggest industry, but only so long as they remained exploited and submissive farmworkers had tried but failed so many times to organize the giant agribusiness farms that most observers considered it a hopeless task. And yet by the early 1960’s things were beginning to change beneath the surface. Within another fifteen years more than 50,000 farmworkers were protected by union contracts. The Bracero program, an informal arrangement between the United States and Mexican governments, became Public Law 78 in 1951. Started during World War II as a program to provide Mexican agricultural workers to growers, it continued after the war. Public Law 78 stated that no bracero-a temporary worker imported from Mexico-could replace a domestic worker. In reality this provision was rarely enforced. In fact the growers had wanted the Bracero program to continue after the war precisely in order to replace domestic workers. The small but energetic National Farm Labor Union, led by dynamic organizer Ernesto Galarza, found its efforts to create a lasting California farmworkers union in the 1940’s and 50’s stymied again and again by the growers’ manipulation of braceros. Over time, however, farmworkers, led by Cesar Chavez, were able to call upon allies in other unions, in churches and in community groups affiliated with the growing civil rights movement, to put enough pressure on politicians to end the Bracero Program by 1964media/Screen Shot 2022-07-21 at 12.19.45 PM.pngplain2022-07-21T19:20:19+00:001962Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49
1media/Sal Castro Large_thumb.jpeg2022-02-03T01:52:12+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49March 1968 Sal Castro with walkout students at Lincoln High School1Image courtesy of LA Times Photographic Archive, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. Set the Night on Fire: "Castro, a high school teacher long active in liberal and Mexican-American causes, was a key force in organizing student walkouts to protest school conditions in East L.A. The "Blowouts", as they were soon called, were genesis events in the emergence of a new, militant "Chicano" identity.media/Sal Castro Large.jpegplain2022-02-03T01:52:12+00:001968Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49