CSRC Newsletter - Winter Quarter 2024
Volume 22, Number 2
The CSRC is committed to advancing research and programming with significant implications for Latinx and other communities of color. We have made substantial progress in implementing an integral part of our mission, the Latina Futures 2050 Lab. This lab, funded by the California state legislature and housed at the CSRC, seeks to expedite full inclusion for Latinas and similarly situated populations through rigorous research, community partnerships, and leadership development. We dedicated a year to developing a strategic plan for the initiative, involving partners from academia, civil society, and the private sector. Our efforts have included commissioning research from talented junior scholars who focus on Latina experiences. Additionally, we have initiated the design and implementation of research agendas and leadership programming in collaboration with community partners that serve diverse Latina constituencies.
In our largest Latina Futures 2050 Lab event to date, the CSRC worked with our partners at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) and a national planning committee of experts to bring together over four hundred prominent lawyers, elected officials, and community advocates to foster a shared understanding of the legal challenges and opportunities that impact the well-being of Latinas and their families. (Read the UCLA Newsroom story.) Initiated by Sonja Diaz, co-founder of the Latina Futures 2050 Lab and founding director of LPPI, the Latina Futures: Transforming the Nation through Law and Policy symposium also spotlighted the underrepresentation of Latinas in the fields of law and policy and explored pathways to address these gaps. (Watch the symposium highlight reel.) We are looking forward to spearheading future innovative convenings, conducted in partnership with civil society groups.
As part of Latina Futures: Transforming the Nation through Law and Policy on January 20-21, UCLA law professor Laura Gómez (far right) engaged Latina lawmakers in a conversation about the need for a Latina perspective in policymaking across all levels of government. Shown from left to right are California state senator María Elena Durazo, Texas state representative Maria Luisa Flores, US representative Nanette Barragán, and New Mexico state senator Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez. Photography by Kalos X.
In addition to addressing issues that affect diverse Latinas, the CSRC is actively engaged in intensive research and programming that involves young people. Our ongoing collaboration with community and high school students in the Thriving Youth Survey, a participatory action research initiative, is aimed at tackling the often difficult transition to adulthood and related community concerns. Recently, our efforts were showcased in an EdSurge article highlighting how community college students are gaining research skills and contemplating transfers to four-year colleges and universities. During California Freedom Summer 2024, youth researchers will utilize data to enhance voter education initiatives. Our focus on California’s young population extends to supporting K-12 ethnic studies teacher training and implementation. We are fortunate to partner with other UCLA Institute of American Cultures ethnic studies centers, UCLA Center X, and Stanford University Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity to facilitate the coordination of curricular development and teacher training efforts.
Veronica Terriquez, CSRC director (far right), welcomed presentations from Latina leaders from the East Coachella and Imperial Valleys on February 28. Organizations represented were Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition, Youth Leadership Institute, and Alianza Coachella Valley.
The CSRC’s current involvement in supporting K-12 ethnic studies is made possible in part by the historic $10 million gift from UCLA alums Helen and Morgan Chu. This generous contribution is creating endowed chairs for all the IAC ethnic studies centers. (Read the story in the Los Angeles Times.)
With their continued support of the UCLA Institute of American Cultures, Helen and Morgan Chu aim to ensure that UCLA remains at the vanguard of ethnic studies. Photography by Karen Umemoto, UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
UCLA is making significant strides toward achieving Hispanic Serving Institution status. The CSRC’s assistant director, Celia Lacayo, and senior administrator of campus initiatives, César Oyervides-Cisneros, played pivotal roles in planning the HSI Visioning Forum on February 22, which was led by HSI director Elizabeth Gonzalez. This forum, which placed a special emphasis on STEM (science, technology, education, and math), aligned with the CSRC's commitment to enhancing Latinx success in STEM fields. With the backing of Chancellor Gene Block, our faculty hiring endeavors this year are geared toward advancing scholarly excellence and improving educational opportunities for Latinx, racially diverse, and first-generation students.
Celia Lacayo, CSRC assistant director, introduces a panel at the HSI Visioning Forum at UCLA on February 22.
The CSRC offers a dynamic program of events, and we invite you to stay in touch through social media (channel links below). Additionally, you can explore our website for detailed information on our activities, including library programming and publications. Among them: In March, the CSRC Press released the Spring 2024 issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, the first issue published in collaboration with University of California Press. All back issues to 1970 are available online, and to celebrate this new collaboration, the current issue is available online free of charge! Scholars interested in submitting to the journal can find information here.
The front cover of the Fall 2024 issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies features “Quetzalcoatl” (2002) by Detroit-based artist Nora Chapa Mendoza. Print and mixed media, 16 x16 inches. Photography by Carrie Williams Acosta.
As a research center dedicated to community priorities, we express gratitude for your ongoing engagement with our research and programs. Our work would not be possible without the support of our generous foundation partners, donors, and community members.
The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.