May 3: Blowout!

Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for
Educational Justice

May 3, 2012

9:35-11 am

San Diego

Mesa College

Room H 117

Dr. Mario Garcia and Sal Castro will discuss their recently published book Blowout! Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice at Mesa College on Thursday, May 3, 2012 in room H-117/118 at 9:35AM-11AM. Based on oral history, this book is the life-story of a remarkable high school teacher, Sal Castro, who in 1968 inspired the Chicano students of the East Los Angeles public schools to stage a massive walkout to protest years of school discrimination and educational inequality that affected Mexican American students. These walkouts came to be known as the “blowouts” and represent a seminal event of the Chicano Movement of that era. A book signing will follow the presentation.

Mario T. García is professor of Chicana/o studies and adjunct professor in history and religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sal Castro is an American educator and activist.

Blowout! Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice by Mario T. García and Sal Castro. For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-8981.html

Sponsored by the Chicano Studies Department, the Chicano Latino Heritage Celebration Committee and the Humanities Institute.

Exhibition of the Chicano Books Banned in Tucson, Arizona

First, the Tucson School District went after the
Mexican American studies program.

Now, it's going after its books.

On Display

Chicano Books Banned in Tucson, Arizona

San Diego City College Library

Next to the Circulation Desk

April 17- May 1st

Invite your friends and students!

May 1- International Workers Day

The City College BEAT Club, Occupy at City College, supported by AFT Local 1931, will be holdinga rally for education rights on May 1st at 11am at Park and A (in front of the B Building), Therally will be followed by a march to the Civic Center downtown.

This Tuesday is May 1st, or May Day, also known as International Worker's Day. This

day commemorates the history of the labor movement and all of its accomplishments

and to raise awareness of the pertinent labor issues of the day.

This year, there will be several events around San Diego, including one at City College, to

commemorate May Day and to raise awareness of the issues working families and students are facing in the present. This includes budget cuts, unemployment, and the need for workers rights.

The City College BEAT Club, Occupy at City College, supported by AFT Local 1931, will be holding a rally for education rights on May 1st at 11am at Park and A (in front of the B Building), The rally will be followed by a march to the Civic Center downtown.

Join with the campus community to stand up for education and workers rights!

------------------------------------------------

Other events (elsewhere) of the day include:

12pm: Rally at the San Diego Civic Center to support local area janitors

3:30pm: Rally and march from Roosevelt Middle to the San Diego School Board meeting with San Diego Education Association to support hundreds of San Diego Unified School District teachers facing layoffs

4-6pm: Occupy San Diego Labor Solidarity event calling for support for local labor rights campaigns

5:30pm Chicano Park celebration of May Day

April 28: Tu'un davi / Español / English : Language Exchange at Cognate Space

Mujeres Mixtecas, CAFE and Cog*nate collective invite you to share in a night of exchange! Mujeres Mixtecas, a female Mixtec sewing co-op will share their language and culture as they will unveil a sewn mural created in collaboration with cog*nate collective, and give a short talk on their history and culture. The event is a way of inciting dialogue between the various ethnic and economic groups at the border.

Saturday April 28
11am - 4pm

Tijuana

There will be music and the co-op will prepare a Mixtec meal for everyone. $7 donation suggested for lunch. Our hope is that each of us will teach a bit of our own language(s) as we learn a bit more Mixtec, Spanish, or English through conversation and social exchange.

Located between the northbound lanes of traffic at the Mercado de Artesanias, Linea in the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Cog*nate Space/Espacio Cognado has hosted various arts and cultural events since its inception last year.

Directions to Cog*nate Space:

The space is located at the foot of the pedestrian bridge on the Mexican side of the border on the median between border car lanes.

From the US:

Crossing the border on foot, continue straight through the turnstiles. There will be a set of turnstiles to your right, DO NOT GO RIGHT. Instead, continue straight ahead until you cross a set of turnstiles that will lead you to "La Concha," a silvery shell-like building that will be on your left. Walk past the building toward the taxis, which should be in front of you. Before reaching the taxis make a left onto a footbridge that will take you to the port of entry. Cross the bridge and walk down at the first exit point as you walk east on the bridge. The market is the set of red stalls on your right.

From Mexico:

Go to the San Ysidro port of Entry and take the pedestrian bridge that goes over the cars west. Exit the bridge before you get to "La Concha". The market is the set of red stalls on your left.

For more information about cog*nate collective's collaboration with Mujeres Mixtecas visit:http://cognatecollective.tumblr.com/

April 21: Free Naturalization Workshop

April 21: Free Naturalization Workshop

Southwestern College

900 Otay Lakes Rd.,Chula Vista, CA 91910. Free Parking.

Register at www.youareamerica.org.

Please register in advance. Walk-ins welcomed.

Bring all of the items listed below to the workshop:

• Money Order for N-400 Application Fee: $680 (made out to U.S. Department of Homeland Security) OR fee waiver documents (see below).
• Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) card / also known as “green card”.
• Identification Documents: (1) Social Security # and (2) California Driver’s License or ID (if you have one).
• Spouse’s Info: (1) birthdate, (2) Social Security #, and (3) citizenship certificate or LPR card (if immigrant).
• Children’s Info: (1) birthdates, (2) current addresses, and (3) LPR cards or A numbers (if immigrants).
• Marriage Certificates: for ALL of your marriages and ALL of your current spouse’s marriages.
• Divorce Decrees (with date marriage ended): for ALL your divorces AND your current spouse’s divorces.
• Employment History: employer name, address, and start and end dates for ALL jobs in the last 5 years.
• Home Addresses: for last 5 years with the year and month of EACH move.
• Travel Dates: dates and destinations of ALL trips outside of the US (only trips of more than 24 hours).
• Court Papers (charging documents, judgements and orders) for ALL criminal arrests and convictions.
• Men Only: Selective Service # and date registered (if known).

You might qualify for waiver of the application fee:

If you or your spouse receive means-tested public assistance, you might qualify for a waiver of the $680 application fee. Bring evidence of Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Food Stamps, Cash Assistance (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or CalWORKs benefits that you currently receive.

You might qualify for an English waiver:

If you are over 50 years old and have been a permanent resident for at least 20 years OR are over 55 years old and have been a permanent resident for 15 years, you may take the civics test in your native language. Bring addresses where you have lived in the US since becoming a resident.

Chicano Park Day

Organized by the Chicano Park Steering Committee

42nd Annual Chicano Park Day Celebration

April 21, 2012

The 42nd annual Chicano Park Day celebration will take place on Saturday, April 21, 2012, 10 am to 5 pm, in historic Chicano Park, located in the Barrio Logan community, south of downtown San Diego, under the San Diego-Coronado bridge. This family event is always free and open to the public. The theme for the 42nd Chicano Park Day, represented in the poster designed by Victor Cordero, is "Lowriders: Part of Chicano Park's History, Culture, Pride & Future!'

Established by Chicano activists on April 22, 1970, Chicano Park has received international recognition as a major public art site for its commanding mural paintings of the past and present struggle of Mexican and Chicano history. Visitors to Chicano Park Day will experience traditional music and dance, including one of the most beautiful performances of Aztec Indigenous dance, coordinated by Toltecas en Aztlán.

More information

ChicanoPark.Org

April 20: Bring Justice Home

New Eye Witness Video of Beating and Tasing of Anastasio Rojas Emerges

April 20

8:30 pm
Program "Need to Know" 

KPBS TV San Diego

Channel 15 or 11 

 

More than six million people living on the U.S. side of the southern border call this region home. Millions more cross back and forth every day to shop, visit family and do business that fuels our economy. The U.S.-Mexico Border is a vibrant, diverse and unique region.

In the midst of our border communities, the largest law-enforcement agency in the country, the U.S. Border Patrol, operates with virtual impunity. Southern border communities have insisted that the U.S. Border Patrol cannot act above the law.

Since 2010 Border Patrol agents have killed at least seven members of border communities and several others have been seriously injured. The Border Patrol has taken no known action against any of the agents involved. There also has been no investigation made public that will help families understand why their loved ones were killed or injured.

On Friday, April 20th PBS’s Need to Know Program will air a half hour segment that will expose the excessive use of deadly force that has become routine for the Border Patrol.

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8MJ5W9Yto5Q

April 17: Chile’s Student Protest Movement

AL-JAZEERA FAULT LINES FILM SHOWING:

CHILE RISING

Fault Lines follows Chile’s student protest movement and examines the underlying issues driving the anger—from austerity budget cut measures to privatization.

Is the situation in Chile telling of our future as students here in the US? What lessons can we learn?

When: Tuesday, April 17th at 12:35pm

Where: D-121

What: Film showing and discussion

Brought to you by BEAT and Visionary Feminists

April 14: Tijuana Maquiladora Tiur

 

Come to learn about Tijuana communities and workers' conditions and struggles!

Saturday, April 14 
9 am to 3 pm

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Citizens returning from Mexico should present an U.S. passport. (Otherwise, they need an official ID, birth certificate, and waiting in line when returning to the U.S. for a period of time to be decided by the border gate officer.) More information: the U.S. State Dept. web site:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requirements

All tour participants must read the US travel alert to Mexico and sign the tour waiver. Please read the attached file.

SCHEDULE 

(THERE MAY BE SLIGHT VARIATIONS FROM TOUR TO TOUR.)

9:00 am sharp- San Ysidro/Tijuana border-bus station. We will walk together to cross the border gate and travel to our locations in Tijuana using chartered buses for transportation.

9:45 am- The crosses at the border: More than 7,000 immigrants have died trying to cross the border.

10:30 am- Otay Industrial Park, Sanyo, Douglas Furniture, other maquiladoras: workers’ labor conditions, labor rights and struggles NOTE: We will visit the Tijuana industrial area but won’t enter any factory.

11:00 am- Community Ejido Chilpancingo-Rio Alamar: industrialization, health, environment, urban development

11:30 pm- Metales y Derivados, a story of struggle and success for environmental justice

12:15 pm- Lunch

1:00 pm- Group dialogue about the experience; time for questions and comments

2:00 pm- Working women in Tijuana are organizing artisan cooperatives and promoting an alternative economy. They will bring their handcrafts to the tour. To learn in advance about these cooperatives, please go to http://www.ollincallicm.blogspot.com/

3:00 pm- Return to the Tijuana bus station

DONATIONS

$30 regular, $20 students, $ 50 solidarity

Donations cover the bus, lunch, and a donation to the workers’ organizations.

To reserve a place, please go to http://www.sdmaquila.org/

If you prefer to use the postal system, or for more information, please contact:

Herb Shore: sdmaquila@cox.net, (619) 287-5535

Sponsored by Colectivo Ollin Calli Tijuana, Colectivo Chilpancingo for Environmental Justice, San Diego Maquiladora Workers' Solidarity Network, Environmental Health Coalition, and Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras

6th Annual A.R.E. Conference

Raza Educators:

¡Aqui Estamos, Educamos, Transformamos y No Nos Vamos!

Attend the largest and most important annual gathering of progressive

Raza Educators in the United States

6th Annual

Association of Raza Educators (ARE) Conference

April 14th, 2012~Lincoln High School~ San Diego, CA

Keynote Speakers:

• Sean Arce: Teacher, Mexican American Studies Program, Tucson, AZ. Sean is currently one of the principle organizers in the fight to save the Mexican American Studies in the Tucson City Schools.

• Maria Reyes: Freedom Writers Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. Maria was portrayed as one of the main characters in the movie, Freedom Writers.

More information
Association of Raza Educators (ARE) Conference

Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less

Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less 

Pew Research center, April 2012

This report analyzes the magnitude and trend of migration flows between Mexico and the United States; the experiences and intentions of Mexican immigrants repatriated by U.S. immigration authorities; U.S. immigration enforcement patterns; conditions in Mexico and the U.S. that could affect immigration; and characteristics of Mexican-born immigrants in the U.S.

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/23/net-migration-from-mexico-falls-to-zero-and-perhaps-less/

 

Mar 31: Señas de amistad Beyond Borders

Friendship Park (San Diego) and

Playas de Tijuana

Mar 31, Saturday

More info:

Bordermeetup.org

Event on Facebook
Includes a map to spot on the US side (you can join from either side).

E mail: bordermeetup@gmail.com

If you are coming on the US side, we'll need to walk in about a mile, so please arrive about 30 min early and bring walking shoes and an ID (you don't have to cross the border but may be asked for ID, if you don't have legal residency please don't come because Border Patrol will be present and may be checking).

Mar 28: Peace and Dignity Journey 2012

Peace and Dignity Journeys was started in 1992 to continue in the spirit of the traditions of our ancestors. Every four years Indigenous communities all over North, Central and South America witness and partake in the tradition of receiving runners with ceremonies unique to their community, sharing stories, song, dance, and the wisdom that comes from community elders and ceremony.

Presentation by Oscar Montalvo

March 28, 11:10 am

San Diego City College

Room A213

Peace and Dignity Journeys runners start simultaneously from both ends of the continent in Chickaloon, Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina traversing the entire continent by foot from community to community and joining together for a final gathering in Central America, Panama. The 2012 run is dedicated to Water, reminding all who have forgotten that Water is an important resource and a shared resource for all.

More information: Peace and Dignity Journey 2012

Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez

FEATURED MESA COLLEGE CAMPUS EVENT FOR

THE ANNUAL 2012 CÉSAR E. CHÁVEZ CELEBRATION

Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

9:35AM-11AM

Mesa College

Room H-117/118

Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez and his brother Ricardo will perform and talk about their personal experiences in connection to César E. Chávez and the farm worker movement in California.

Raised in Blythe, CA, Chunky was the child of farm workers and first met César E. Chávez in his hometown. Chunky’s self-described “Southwest-Chicano-Barrio Folklore” music has celebrated the farm worker movement since the 1960s. He and his band have been called “Chicano musical ambassadors” and the pride of the San Diego Mexican-American community. Whatever you call them,

Los Alacranes, founded in 1977 by Ramón “Chunky” Sánchez and his brother Ricardo, probably best live up to their most intimate, colloquial moniker: “musicos locos”. As the quintessential Chicano musicians, Los Alacranes have provided the musical soundtrack for countless strikes, pickets, weddings, quinceañeras and carne asadas all over Aztlan. Their songs "Chicano Park " and "Chorizo Sandwich" helped define a generation.

Event sponsored by the Chicano Studies Department, the Chicano Latino Heritage Celebration committee and the Humanities Institute.

Tortilla Curtain

DON’T MISS THIS OUTSTANDING PLAY!!!

STUDENTS $18

Call Nisha (619) 544-1001 to reserve

TORTILLA CURTAIN

By Matthew Spangler

Based on the novel by T.C. Boyle

Directed by Sam Woodhouse

MARCH 17–APRIL 8, 2012 ON THE LYCEUM STAGE

A World Premiere based on the controversial bestselling novel. A collision on a Southern California highway ignites a confrontation between “the haves” and the “have–nots" that becomes an epic tale about the price of the American dream.

This world premiere production is adapted from the modern fiction classic by T.C. Boyle, the writer Newsweek calls “America’s most imaginative contemporary novelist.” In the sun-baked beauty of Topanga Canyon, the lives of three people are on a collision course. Delaney Mossbacher, nature writer and staunch environmentalist, lives a tidy, comfortable existence with his wife and young stepson behind the walls of a gated hilltop community. They are living the American dream, unquestioning of their absolute right to all that they have. Cándido Rincón and his sister-in-law América, recently arrived undocumented immigrants from Mexico, live in a ravine at the bottom of the canyon, fighting the elements and tirelessly mowing lawns and cleaning houses while they save for an apartment. They cling to their vision of the American dream, which manages to elude their grasp at every turn. One summer day, Delaney, driving up the narrow, twisting canyon road, hits Cándido with his car. The lives of the two men and their families will never be the same. Playwright Matthew Spangler is the author of the critically-acclaimed stage adaptation of the blockbuster novel The Kite Runner. Now Spangler has fashioned a rip-roaring tale that screams out, “We are all in this together!” Part satire and part parable, Tortilla Curtain is humorous and heart breaking, a story that speaks passionately to the future of California and the challenges of forming “a more perfect union” in our changing America.

Coffee with a Justice AromaCafe con Aroma de Justicia

There is another way…

Join us to learn about fair trade options and promote a coffee free trade campaign

P R E S E N T A T I O N

David Schmidt

C.A.F.E.

Creating Alternative and Fair Enterprise

Mar 13, 2012

9:35 and 11:10 am

Room A 213

San Diego City College

David Schmidt of C.A.F.E. is a great-grandchild of immigrants from Russia, and has been involved in urban and rural indigenous communities in Mexico over the last decade, and has witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of lopsided trade policies and neoliberal economics on the poorest communities in the world.

Every day, hundreds of us purchase a cup of coffee at City College. This is fine—but we believe that the money we pay for that coffee should go to the hard-working farmers who grow and pick that coffee. We should not be drinking coffee that is polluted with the sweat and blood of exploited laborers in Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia and many other coffee-producing nations. When we buy coffee, our money should go to support worker-owned coops that allow workers and their families to live with dignity and justice. We want to see City College become a campus that only sells coffee with the taste of justice—coffee that is “Fair Trade certified”.

Most of the world’s coffee is controlled by big corporations like Phillip Morris, Nestlé and Sara Lee. These huge companies often pay coffee farmers miserable prices without guaranteeing a stable wage. Farming coffee becomes a gamble: the farmers who invest the most work in our coffee are paid a few pennies, while middlemen and corporate distributers keep the profits for themselves.

Considering all of the violence and injustice involved in the coffee trade, it’s no wonder that many coffee farmers leave their home towns and migrate to the city or to another country. For many, it’s just not possible to survive farming coffee.

But there is another way…

Fair Trade-certified coffee offers a real alternative to the unjust status quo of coffee. Coffee that bears the Fair Trade label was bought from worker-owned co-ops that make decisions democratically and negotiate a fair price for their product.

For two years, the club City College CAFE (Creating Alternatives and Fair Trade) has worked to create awareness about fair trade. We are asking you to support the San Diego Community College Fair Trade Campaign. Our goal is to present a resolution to the District Board of Trustees in favor of fair trade coffee.

 

April 14 Tijuana Maquiladora Tour

 

Come to learn about Tijuana communities and workers' conditions and struggles!

Saturday, April 14 
9 am to 3 pm

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Citizens returning from Mexico should present an U.S. passport. (Otherwise, they need an official ID, birth certificate, and waiting in line when returning to the U.S. for a period of time to be decided by the border gate officer.) More information: the U.S. State Dept. web site:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requirements

All tour participants must read the US travel alert to Mexico and sign the tour waiver. Please read the attached file.

SCHEDULE 

(THERE MAY BE SLIGHT VARIATIONS FROM TOUR TO TOUR.)

9:00 am sharp- San Ysidro/Tijuana border-bus station. We will walk together to cross the border gate and travel to our locations in Tijuana using chartered buses for transportation.

9:45 am- The crosses at the border: More than 7,000 immigrants have died trying to cross the border.

10:30 am- Otay Industrial Park, Sanyo, Douglas Furniture, other maquiladoras: workers’ labor conditions, labor rights and struggles NOTE: We will visit the Tijuana industrial area but won’t enter any factory.

11:00 am- Community Ejido Chilpancingo-Rio Alamar: industrialization, health, environment, urban development

11:30 pm- Metales y Derivados, a story of struggle and success for environmental justice

12:15 pm- Lunch

1:00 pm- Group dialogue about the experience; time for questions and comments

2:00 pm- Working women in Tijuana are organizing artisan cooperatives and promoting an alternative economy. They will bring their handcrafts to the tour. To learn in advance about these cooperatives, please go to http://www.ollincallicm.blogspot.com/

3:00 pm- Return to the Tijuana bus station

DONATIONS

$30 regular, $20 students, $ 50 solidarity

Donations cover the bus, lunch, and a donation to the workers’ organizations.

To reserve a place, please go to http://www.sdmaquila.org/

If you prefer to use the postal system, or for more information, please contact:

Herb Shore: sdmaquila@cox.net, (619) 287-5535

Sponsored by Colectivo Ollin Calli Tijuana, Colectivo Chilpancingo for Environmental Justice, San Diego Maquiladora Workers' Solidarity Network, Environmental Health Coalition, and Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras

San Diego Latino Film Festival

San Diego Latino Film Festival Schedule

Film Festival Website

Facebook

The Media Arts Center promotes access to film and video as tools for community self-expression, social change and supports the professional development of media artists; they endorse the inclusion of underrepresented communities in the media arts field and the portrayal of accurate images of these communities by main stream media.

Students at City College will benefit from attending any of our films that capture the process of human communication that are interpreted through the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions within each film. Your students can expand their knowledge with this advantageous experience, and even have a short paper or extra credit assigned to help their grade!

Some film titles, and dates are listed below:

0.56% - ¿QUÉ LE PASÓ A MÉXICO?-In the summer of 2006, dozens of Mexican politicians famously ripped into one another during a parliamentary session. The event was the culmination of an exceptionally tumultuous presidential election campaign that pitted controversial candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador against the representative from the party in power, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. This incisive documentary begins with those moments of utter chaos before going back in time to analyze the events that led up to this explosive protest. Click here to view more information of film and to purchase tickets online http://sdlatino.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/056qulepasamxico_lorenzohagerman_sdlatino2012

BOLETO AL PARAISO- It’s Cuba circa 1993 and a severe economic crisis rages. Without warning, Eunice (Miriel Cejas) decides to run away from her small town and sexually aggressive father. On the road she joins up with a group of homeless teens hitchhiking to Havana. Eunice feels an instant connection to charismatic ringleader Alejandro (Francisco Garcia Gonzalez), but her damaged past and his preoccupation with his dead-end existence stand in the way. Desperate, with no opportunities to improve their lives, the two consider taking extreme measures to reach an unlikely paradise. Gerardo Chijona’s drama premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Will screen in Narrative Competition. Click here to view more information of film and to purchase tickets online http://sdlatino.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/boletoalparaiso_gerardochijona_sdlatino2012

AB540/Undocumented Student Workshop: Education is a Right not a Privilege!

This is a great workshop students, families and teachers!

Wednesday March 7th, 2012

Lincoln High School Center for Social Justice Room 553

4777 Imperial Ave. SD CA 92113

6:00-8:00pm

There are so many resources for students who are considered “undocumented”

Come to this FREE workshop and learn about:

• How you CAN get to college

• Scholarship Opportunities

• The Federal DREAM ACT

• The CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT

• AB540 Legislation

• Rights that ALL students have regardless of citizenship status

FREE EVENT – Food and Refreshments will be available

Spider-Women

Created and Choreographed by Zaquia Salinas

Tuesday, March 6, 9:40 a.m.

Saville Theatre

The spider symbolizes balance between past and future, the physical and spiritual. Spiders represent strength and gentleness combined. They are weavers of fate and have the extraordinary capability of creating, weaving and spinning their own webs. This ability shows and awakens the gift of creation. Spider-Women is a whimsical and quirky piece exploring the extraordinary process of creativity and the many facets of femininity through the presentation of characters.

**This piece contains mature content.**

The case of Méndez v. Westminster and the Desegregation of Public Education

THE FIRST ANNUAL GRACIA MOLINA DE PICK FEMINIST LECTURE SERIES AT SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE

GUEST SPEAKER: SYLVIA MENDEZ "The case of Méndez v. Westminster and the Desegregation of Public Education"

11 AM TUESDAY

MARCH 6 ROOM: H-117/118

MESA COLLEGE

Sylvia Méndez is the oldest daughter of Gonzalo Méndez, a Mexican immigrant, and Felicitas Méndez, a Puerto Rican, who fought so she and her brothers could have equal education through the case of Méndez et al v. Westminster et al. Ms. Méndez continues the legacy left by her parents to campaign for education. Ms. Méndez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, on February 15, 2011.

The Annual Gracia Molina de Pick Feminist Lecture Series honors the founder of the San Diego Mesa College Chicano Studies Department and recognizes her life-long commitment to education, feminism, and dedication to the mission of the community college.

Organized by the Chicano Studies Department. Co-sponsored by the San Diego Mesa College Humanities Institute and the Chicano Latino Heritage Celebration Committee.

Culture and Migration: The San Diego Mixtec Experience

Valentina and Paulina Torres

Familia Indígena Unida

Monday, Mar 5, 11:10 am

Room A 213

San Diego City College

Valentina Torres and Paulina Torres will introduce students to the Mixtec culture and history in Oaxaca and in San Diego and present one of the most important experiences of a migrant Mexican Indigenous community. The Mixtecs have preserved and re-created cultural and social links between their people at home and their people in the US, in spite of cultural and national borders.

Valentina and PaulinaTorres were born in the Mexican State of Oaxaca and belongs to the 2,500 year-old Mixtec culture, one of the oldest and most extraordinary original cultures of Mexico. Like many other Mixtecs, the Torres sisters migrated to San Diego. She has worked to improve both her community in San Diego and the one she comes from in Oaxaca. Valentina is one of the first women in her community to graduate from San Diego State University. For several years she has been the director of the Mixtec Cultural Exchange Program. In this program, Mixtec children and adults learn English and Spanish and in exchange, they teach the Mixtec languages to the student volunteers from UCSD, SDSU, USD, City College and other schools. Valentina is the co-founder of Familia Indigena Unida, a grassroots organization that promotes community, self-sufficiency, civic and reproductive rights and cultural preservation among migrant Mixtec families. She is the former president of Ñuu Saa Committee for the Development of Santa Maria Natividad, a small rural village located in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Sponsored by City College Chicana/o Studies Department

National Student Walkout

Thursday March 1st 2012

11 am