The Chicano Student Movement at California State College Los Angeles, 1967–1971

Abstract

The authors examine the successful efforts to set up the first department of Mexican American Studies, possibly the first Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) in the California State University system, the establishment of a community center, and a Black and Brown House on the campus. The article details the negotiations among administrators, students, faculty, staff, and community. The goal is to highlight how the background of the East Los Angeles Blowouts, the response to the Vietnam War, the reaction to police violence, and the rise of La Raza Unida Party were central to the success of establishing these academic and university programs. At the same time, the essay underscores how these constituencies, given their divergent interests, were able to shift the institution. The authors use archival documentation and oral histories to demonstrate their points.