Decades in Making, San Diego Museum will Honor Chicano Community and Movement

"Organizers and community members hope the museum will document the history of Chicano Park and continue educating future generations about Barrio Logan’s history."

The Chicano Moratorium in East LA and Ventura County

by Frank P. Barajas

Chicano Moratorium commemorations continue today in communities in and out of East Los Angeles as they mark a history that centers on the experience of ethnic Mexican and Latinx peoples in the US to inspire and reinspire the young and old, to continue their struggle to realize the ideal of justice for all.

View the Pioneering 1971 TV Series "Chicano" Through the USC Moving Image Archive

The Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts has made available recently preserved video of the 1971 television program "Chicano," a pioneering examination of the political, social and cultural concerns of Mexican Americans in California and the U.S. Southwest. 

Pioneering Chicano Movement TV Show Reemerges after 50 Years in Garage

On a recent August day, Frank Cruz, now 82, thought to himself as he had dozens of times before: “Pendejo, you better do something about those films. It might be too late.”

The Fantasy of Hispanic Heritage Month

by Frank P. Barajas

Conceived by a Congressman to honor the contributions of ethnic Mexicans to American society, Hispanic Heritage Month is based in a mythical Spanish past that obscures the indigenous history of the west and legitimates the succession of power from Iberian to Anglo elites. 

New History of Chicanos in Ventura County

Historian Frank Barajas discusses his new book on Chicano activism in California's Ventura County with columnist Gustavo Arellano.

The Vexations of History In An Age of Police Violence: A Ventura County California Perspective

by Frank P. Barajas

Protests like those in the author's home city show that minority communities across the nation have longstanding historical grievances against police departments that must be addressed with meaningful change.

The Legacy of Bobby Lee Verdugo, A Leader Of East LA Walkouts

Verdugo, who became one of the founders of the Chicano student movement and spent much of his life mentoring youth, died Friday. He was 69.

Fifty Years Ago, Fed Up With the City’s Neglect, a San Diego Community Rose Up to Create Chicano Park

Making Tierra Mía, says the director of the Smithsonian Latino Center, proved transformative in giving voice to the people