Ethnic Studies Collection
Ethnic Studies Projects
National Endowment for the Humanities (Division of Education Programs) grant funded a Black Studies-Chicano Studies Oral History Project during the Spring and Fall semesters of 1973. The joint Project was devised to: provide college students with fieldwork experience through the use of the oral history technique: to retain raw primary data from “old-timers” among the Black and Chicano communities that otherwise might be lost; and to develop a permanent collection of tapes and interview manuscripts as a resource for present and future researchers.
The Project produced a Chicano Studies Collection representing: 456 pages of interview manuscript in the original Spanish; and 529 pages of interview manuscript representing translation of those conducted in Spanish, plus those conducted originally in English. The collections developed by the two projects are comprised of twenty-one interview manuscripts deposited in the Honnold Library.
Black Studies
Bell, James (b. 1925)
Vice President for Administration & Student Affairs, California State Polytechnic University
Memoirs. 1973
James Bell became the first African American elected to office in the city of Pomona when he was elected to the Pomona School Board in 1970. Here, he reminisces about his life from childhood to his present position as a college administrator. He discusses his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Columbia University in New York. He speaks about being the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Physical Education from Columbia and his years as a teacher in elementary and secondary schools and colleges. Mr. Bell also discusses his World War II service in the first group of African American Marines, his experiences as an African American Veteran, and his views on the Pomona African American community.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
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Benning, Otis C. (b. 1939)
Law Student
1973
Otis C. Benning was the son of a coal miner in Alcock Kentucky. He attended Berea College in Kentucky and Earned his Master's degree in Education from the University of the Redlands in 1973. He discusses his work as a correctional counselor at a maximum security state prison from 1962-1965 and as a rehabilitation counselor in Southern California from 1965 to 1970. In 1969, Otis Benning founded the Pomona Clarion, a newspaper devoted to African American affairs. He discusses his identity as an "Appalachian Black" and his views on African American and Chicano culture.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
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Dodd, Odie (b. 1889)
Sharecropper
1973
Odie Dodd lived in Texas from 1889 to 1959. He discusses tenant farming and sharecropping in Texas as well as his experiences as a cowboy. He reflects on relations between African American and Mexican American communities in Texas. Mr. Dodd lost his vision in the 1950s and talks about his adaptation to blindness. He has many interesting things to say about his interest in religion and his opinions on education and segregation.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
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Johnson, David Lyle (b. 1935)
Pastor
1973
Reverend Johnson grew up in Louisiana. His father was a sharecropper and a Methodist minister and his mother was a schoolteacher. He discusses moving with his mother and brother to Monrovia California in 1944 and attending a segregated school. He attended Valley College in San Bernardino and earned his B.A. in Theology from Pasadena College. He discusses entering the Methodist ministry and his decision to become a Baptist, comparing the two churches. He explains African American theology and his commitment to it as well as his views on African American identity.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
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Maxwell, Alice J. (b. 1889)
Teacher, Fieldhand
1973
Alice Maxwell grew up in Alabama, the fourteenth of fifteen children. Her father was Native American and Mexican and her mother was African American and Native American. Mrs. Maxwell completed the tenth grade and then taught school. She married in 1917 and moved to Ohio where she worked as a nurse's aide, a cook, and a field hand while raising ten children and a number of grandchildren, nieces and nephews. In 1969, she moved to California to live with her son. She relates her parent's experiences during slavery and her own experiences during the Depression and the wars of this century. She reflects on race relations in the North and South at different eras in her life.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
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Mutunga, Stephen Ngui (b. 1941)
Ph.D. student, teacher
1974
Stephen Ngui Mutunga was born in Machakos, Kenya, in the Kamba tribe. His father was a colonial police officer and a farmer. Mr. Mutunga came to the U.S. in 1962 with an Institute on International Education Fellowship. He earned his Master's degree in Education from Eastern Oregon State College and in 1972, entered a doctoral program at Claremont Graduate School. He discusses African family life and educational systems, African attitudes towards European settlers, American prejudice towards Black Americans, as well as attitudes towards Africans. He also comments on changes in Kenya since he left.
Interviewers: Kern Reese, Pomona College Student, and Alonzo Smith, Black Studies Center.
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Wilson, Eileen (b. 1947)
Director Black Admissions, Claremont Colleges
1974
Ms. Wilson grew up in Los Angeles where she attended public elementary schools and Catholic high schools. In 1969, she graduated from Pomona College and was awarded a Watson Fellowship from IBM to travel and study in Africa. She discusses the experiences of African American students at the Claremont Colleges and the establishment of the Black Studies Center as well as her views on the Black experience in the U.S. and in Africa.
Interviewer: Alonzo Smith, Black Studies Center, Claremont Colleges and Cheryl Martin, Scripps College.
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Chicano Studies
Anguiano, Julian (b. 1908)
Rancher, Steel Worker
1973
Julian Anguiano was born in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México. He came to the U.S. with his family in 1910, fleeing the Revolution. They Lived in Colorado as Migrant workers. He discusses his schooling in segregated schools in Colorado and California, his work on ranches and farms, his activities in Mexican and community organizations. Mr. Anguiano also details his confrontation with Upland school superintendent over the rights of his children to attend non-segregated schools.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriguez, Pitzer College.
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Arredondo, Guadalupe Salas (b. 1905)
Farmworker
1974.
Guadalupe Arredondo was born in Jalisco, México. He was orphaned and brought to the United States by an uncle in 1917. He discusses ranch life in Jalisco, migration to the U.S. and the difficulty of finding work during the Depression. He also compares life in the U.S. and México.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriguez, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Block, Hortensia
Unknown
1973
Born in Santa Cruz, Sonora, México in 1912, at age seventeen she migrated to the United States but returned annually to visit her family. In 1942, she married Antonio Block, whose father was an American citizen of Danish descent. Because his father was employed in México City, Mr. Block grew up there. In Los Angeles he was an employee of Railway Express and Mrs. Block worked in the garment industry. They lived in Compton for ten years and because of the influx of blacks following the Watts riots, they settled in Upland, California. Hortensia Block tells of her family walking out through the mountains from Sonora, México to Lochiel, Arizona during the Revolution in 1912 and then returning to México. She describes Compton as a place where Mexicans and Americans lived well together.
Interviewer: Ramón Magdaleno, Claremont McKenna College.
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Corona, Humberto Noe (Bert). (b. 1918)
Activist
1974
Mr. Corona grew up in El Paso, Texas. He discusses El Paso schools, living conditions, politics and the city's relationship to Ciudad Juarez, México, across the border. Mr. Corona moved to California in 1936 and served as a paratrooper in World War Two. He worked as a labor and community organizer, a counselor and a college teacher. He discusses his leadership Centro de Acción Social Autonoma (CASA), an organization for research and legislative study on Mexican immigration, and the importance of El Partido de La Raza Unida.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Corral, Maria del Refugio Vargas (b.1904)
Migrant Worker
1974
Maria Corral was born in San Isidro, Durango, México and completed the fifth grade in school. She married in 1921 and moved to the U.S., working on farms for two years after which she returned to México. In 1949, she moved to the San Diego area and in 1956 to Los Angeles. She discusses ranch life in Durango, seasonal work in California fields and packing plants, her acquaintance with Cesar Chavez, her memories of the Mexican Revolution and her use of medicinal herbs.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Guerra, Jose Garcia (b. 1894)
1974
Jose Guerra was born in Yselta, Texas and grew up there and in Las Cruces, New México. He moved to California in 1910. He discusses his childhood and work in California at various jobs. He details his living experiences in East Los Angeles, developments in the Mexican American community there, and its relations with other minority groups.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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NuÑez, Tiburcio (b.1909)
Agricultural Worker
1973
Tiburcio Nuñez was born in Nombre de Dios, Chihuahua, México and moved to the United States in 1928. He lives in El Paso, Texas until 1945 and moved to Chino, California in 1966. He discusses life in México, Texas and California, the Depression in Texas, and social and labor movements in México and the U.S.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriguez, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Pacheco, Jesus (b. 1905)
Citrus Worker
1974
Born in Santiago, Zacatecas, México, Jesus Pacheco moved to the U.S. in 1925. He moved to Pomona, California in 1927 and in 1928 began working for the Lemon Grove Packing House in Upland. Over the years, he worked as a picker, pruner, grafter and weeder, eventually becoming a foreman. He married in 1940 and raised seven children. Mr. Pacheco discusses hacienda life in Zacatecas, the effects of the Revolution on México, his movements from youth to retirement, life in Upland, housing, discrimination, opportunity, immigration and social conditions in the Mexican community.
Interviewer: Arnold Carrasco, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Rivera, Candido (b.1898)
Labor Contractor
1973
Born in Purisma, Durango, México, Candido Rivera entered the U.S. in 1912 and worked on the railroads until 1915. He moved to Arizona and worked in mines for twenty years, after which he moved to California and began a labor contracting business for agricultural workers. He discusses California agricultural labor practices in detail and mentions working as a movie extra for Charlie Chaplin.
Interviewer: Rebeca Baron, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Rodriguez, Emilio (b.1913)
Foundry Worker
1973
Born in Villamar, Michoacan, México, Emilio Rodriquez cam to the U. S. in 1943. he discusses life and politics in México, the Cristero Rebellion, work as a bracero. He compares education and career opportunities, social changes and unionization in the U.S. and México.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriquez, Pitzer College.
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Sevilla, Pedro Cardenas (b.1895)
Retiree
1973
Born in Michoacan, México, Pedro Sevilla moved to the U.S. in 1918 with his wife and two children. Seven more children were born in the U.S. He discusses life in México, the Revolution, border crossing, work and living conditions in Needles, California and raising a family. The Sevillas lived in the Árbol Verde section of Claremont from 1928 to 1973 and Mr. Sevilla discusses life there, among the Mexican community of Claremont.
Interviewer: Marie Torres, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Torrez, Maria Concepción Carrillo (b.1916)
Homemaker
1973
Born in Teocaltiche, Jalisco, México, Maria Torrez moved to the U.S. with her parents in 1919. In 1924, they settled in the Árbol Verde section of Claremont. During her childhood, the family picked fruit from May to December in the San Joaquin Valley. Mrs. Torrez discusses life in Árbol Verde, the Catholic Church, church activities, and discrimination against Mexicans and African Americans before, during, and after World War Two.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Vasquez, Enrique (b.1901)
Vineyard Worker
1973
Born in Aguascalientes, México, Enrique Vasquez moved to the U.S. in 1916. He held various jobs throughout the Southwest, including building bordercamps during the 1920s. From 1927 to 1937, he worked for Guasti Winery in California and participated in the Comisiones Honoríficas Mexicanas, and organization protecting the rights of Mexicans in the U.S.. He was the first president of the Guasti Comisión. He was fired from Guasti for his labor activism, fighting for wage increases and workers' rights and subsequently worked for twenty years at the Virginia Dare Winery. Mr. Vasquez discusses Cesar Chavez's work and the living and working conditions of grape pickers.
Interviewer: Rebeca Baron, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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Zabala, Felipe (b. 1901)
Farm Worker
1973
Born in San Martin, Michoacan, México, Mr. Zabala moved to Southern California in 1909. He married in 1921 and had five children. He discusses the pachuco or "zoot suit" riots of 1943 Los Angeles and living, working and social conditions from 1910 to the present.
Interviewer: Ramon Magdaleno, Claremont Men’s College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
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