As the United States experiences one of the most profound political, social, and economic upheavals of our time, the CSRC remains steadfast in its mission to advance research and programming that center our communities. In the face of seismic federal cutbacks, deportations, and the devastating fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades at the start of the year, our work has never been more critical.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding our nation’s political trajectory, the direction of our work remains clear. With support from the California Endowment, we continue to fund and train junior scholars conducting community-engaged research that examines opportunities for advancing health and racial justice for young people across the state. This work is cultivating a new generation of scholars who are committed to authentically capturing the concerns of youth and labor organizers—leaders who remain resolute in fighting for the rights of those most impacted by social inequalities, even in times of crisis.
In March we celebrate Women’s History Month. Through the Latina Futures 2050 Lab, we are amplifying the voices and research of Latina scholars. “Our UnSilencing,” an op-ed bootcamp led by Latina Futures senior journalism fellow Jean Guerrero, is helping our work reach a broader audience. For instance, Erika Andiola, immigrant rights activist, recently published an opinion piece in The Arizona Republic on the contemporary scapegoating of immigrants, and Daisy Verduzco Reyes, associate professor of sociology at UC Merced, published a piece in De Los that spotlights the class struggles of Latinx communities, including those impacted by the recent fires. Additionally, a webinar on March 20 on climate disasters highlighted Latinas’ expertise in shaping climate justice efforts. I encourage you to follow the groundbreaking work of Latina Futures scholars and advocates through the Latina Futures website, where you can subscribe to the Latina Futures newsletter, as well as follow Instagram and LinkedIn.
On campus, we are thrilled to welcome the CSRC’s inaugural HSI STEM faculty director, Osvaldo Gutierrez, professor of chemistry. An immigrant from Mexico who was raised in Sacramento and a proud UCLA and UC Davis alumnus, Gutierrez is committed to expanding STEM pathways for scholars from underrepresented backgrounds. His achievements, including the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers—the highest honor granted by the U.S. government to early-career researchers—underscore his contributions to the field and capacity for shaping the next generation of STEM scholars at UCLA. With Professor Gutierrez’s leadership, the CSRC looks forward to further contributing to interdepartmental collaborations on STEM initiatives that advance UCLA’s goals of inclusive excellence.
In these turbulent times, the CSRC remains unwavering in its resolve. Our work not only documents the challenges our communities face but also investigates pathways to building a better future for all, especially for those who have historically been left behind.
Opportunities
Daniel and Juleann Gandara CSRC Library Internships
The CSRC is pleased to launch the Daniel and Juleann Gandara CSRC Library Internship Program. The program, which runs through spring and summer quarters, is open to undergraduate students interested in learning about ethnic studies librarianship and gaining work experience at the CSRC Library. Be part of the first cohort of interns! Application guidelines are available
here. If you have questions, please contact
librarian@chicano.ucla.edu and use the subject line “Gandara Library Internship Program 2025.”
Application deadline: Monday, April 7, 2025.
Events
Tuesday, April 8
12:30–2:00 p.m.
118 Haines Hall
Please join us for a book talk by Cloves Luiz Pereira Oliveira, Gladys Lanier Mitchell-Walthour, and Minion K. C. Morrison, editors of
Black Lives Matter in Latin America: Continuities in Racism, Cross-National Resistance and Mobilization in the Americas (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). The volume explores how Black activism in Latin America has taken place not only as public demonstrations but also, for example, in academic conferences, on social media, and through legislation. Sponsored by the UCLA Bunche Center for African American Studies, the UCLA Latin American Institute, and the CSRC.
Wednesday, April 30
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
CSRC Library–144 Haines Hall
Please join us when Albert M. Camarillo, Stanford University Leon Sloss Jr. Memorial Professor of History, Emeritus, presents his memoir,
Compton in My Soul: A Life in Pursuit of Racial Equality (Stanford University Press, 2024). Camarillo, who received his PhD from UCLA in 1975, is regarded as one of the founding scholars of Chicano studies and the field of Mexican American history. Organized by the CSRC.
Monday, May 14
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
CSRC Library–144 Haines Hall
Please join us when Inés Valdez, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, presents her book
Democracy and Empire: Labor, Nature, and the Reproduction of Capitalism (Cambridge University Press, 2023), which draws on the Black radical tradition to theorize the material basis of popular sovereignty. Sponsored by the CSRC and the Latina Futures 2050 Lab.
All events are free to the public unless stated otherwise.
News
CSRC assists faculty and staff recruitment efforts
The CSRC continues to play an integral role in recruiting exceptional faculty from various academic disciplines who have a proven record of teaching, scholarship, and/or mentoring. Hosted in departments and schools across North and South Campus, these new faculty will maintain active affiliations with the CSRC, thereby expanding the number of academic departments hosting CSRC-affiliated faculty. On César Chávez Day, Monday, March 31, 2025, UCLA will celebrate the launch of the UCLA Latinx Success Center. This new center will serve as a vital student resource hub, offering research opportunities and showcasing academic excellence and student achievements. The CSRC was actively involved in the search for the Latinx Success Center’s inaugural executive director.
Terriquez and Carmona coauthor “Union-Curious” study
In January the CSRC released
“Union-Curious Young Workers in Santa Cruz County.” The report is based on a survey of young workers conducted by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor and Community and the CSRC, in collaboration with SEIU Local 521, Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers (AFT Local 4400), Cabrillo Community College, and community organizations. The report highlights one finding in particular: Many young people are “union-curious”— that is, they have a generally positive view of unions. But they are
also uncertain about joining a union because they lack experience with unions or information regarding them. Veronica Terriquez, CSRC director, and Steven Carmona, master’s student in the UCLA Department of Urban Planning, are among the authors of the report, which was published by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor and Community and the CSRC.
Terriquez among changemakers in Alta exhibition
CSRC director Veronica Terriquez is among the one hundred social changemakers featured in the exhibition
Alta: A Human Atlas of a City of Angels, on view through April 27 at the Los Angeles Central Library. Created by Marcus Lyon, the exhibition presents a photographic portrait of each person, accompanied by data on their ancestral DNA and an audio recording in which they talk about their life in Los Angeles County. The exhibition is part of the Getty initiative PST ART: Art & Science Collide.
Roberto Chavez, ¡presente!
As the CSRC was closing for winter break, we learned the sad news that Chicano artist Roberto Chavez had passed away on December 17. Born in 1932 in East Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants, Chavez began his artistic training at LA City College. In 1961, following service in the military, he earned a master's degree in art from UCLA. Chavez began exhibiting his work in the 1950s and became a major figure in the LA art scene in the early 1960s. His paintings, which frequently depict fellow artists as well as Chicana/o life in Los Angeles, were exhibited at some of the city's private art galleries. Through this exposure, he opened doors for other Chicana/o painters and muralists while greatly expanding the possibilities for American art. In 2011 the CSRC was pleased to play a role in bringing Chavez back into public view by including his paintings in the exhibition Art Along the Hyphen: The Mexican-American Generation, part of the first Pacific Standard Time arts initiative organized by the Getty, and in the corresponding catalog, L.A. Xicano (CSRC Press, 2011). That year Chavez's essay "Why Art?" was published in the spring 2011 issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies. Art museums, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, took note and started collecting his work for their permanent collections. Today, Chavez's art continues to be recognized and exhibited, most recently in 2023–24, when it was featured in Advance of the Rear Guard: Ceeje Gallery in the 1960s, at the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, in Pasadena. The exhibition Roberto Chavez: Portraits will be on view at the Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica, March 22–May 3. Roberto Chavez, ¡presente!
Library
CSRC Library hosts McNair scholars
The CSRC Library hosted the UCLA McNair Senior Presentations during winter quarter. Undergraduates in the UCLA McNair Research Scholars Program met weekly between January 31 and March 7 to present on the progress of their research projects. The program, run through the UCLA Academic Advancement Program, was established in 2003 as a two-year program designed to provide undergraduate students with the research skills necessary to pursue a doctoral degree.
Information studies class visits library
This quarter the information studies seminar IS289: “Special Issues in Information Studies” focused on ethnic studies librarianship. Taught by Thuy Vo Dang, assistant professor of information studies and Asian American studies, the class included a visit to the CSRC Library. The eighteen graduate students enrolled in the course learned about CSRC’s work documenting and preserving the histories and experiences of Chicana/o, Central American, and other Latinx communities.
Publications featuring CSRC archival collections
Two recent publications feature materials from the CSRC archive. Gabriele Biotti, I. Vinitha Chandra, and Nacera Haouchine, editors of
Uncanny Perspectives in Literature and Culture: Texts, Images, Experiences (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024), reference issues from the
La Raza Publication Records. Michael Anthony Turcios, in his article
“A Visual Culture History of Chicane/Latine Solidarity with Palestine” Kalfou 11, no. 1 [2024]), references the
La Raza Publication Records and
La Gente de Aztlán from the Carlos Vasquez Papers.
New CSRC Library exhibition
Dos Frutas del Mismo Árbol is now on view in the CSRC Library and hallway vitrine. Curated by artists and sisters Brenda and Yvette Trujillo, the exhibition seeks to capture their intertwined journeys. As Chicanas and creatives, the Trujillos’ work is deeply influenced by their upbringing in Los Angeles, where their parents, who migrated from Mexico in the early 1980s, shaped the sisters’ lives and artistic vision. Through sculpture and painting, the Trujillos explore the complex layers of family, memories, and identity, creating a dialogue in which the artists interrogate their past, their present, and the evolving story of who they are as daughters and sisters and their connection through art. The exhibition will remain on view during regular library hours through May 30.
Exhibitions on view with CSRC loans
The following exhibitions currently on view include images and artworks from CSRC collections and publications:
CSRC Library spring quarter hours
General library services are available Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Archives and research services are available by
appointment only. To schedule a research consultation, please
CLICK HERE. For all other inquiries and support, please email
librarian@chicano.UCLA.edu or visit our research guide at
https://guides.library.ucla.edu/csrc. UCLA students can also seek reference assistance on the UCLA Slack Channel
#csrc-library-reference-help.
Press
Science fiction anthology from CSRC Press and UCLA FTVA
Today the genre of science fiction is widely associated with big-budget American films featuring space invaders and lab-made monsters. Outside of mainstream media, however, science fiction is often employed for political allegory, exploration of identity, and critiques of societal hierarchies and norms by diasporic, indigenous, and independent filmmakers around the world.
Science Fiction against the Margins, edited by Chon Noriega, Maya Montañez Smukler, and Nicole Ucedo, is a compilation of fifteen essays that focus on B movies, television programs, independent productions, and experimental film, video, and media installation. The authors include scholars as well as filmmakers who examine nontraditional science fiction films for their potential to theorize social change.
Science Fiction against the Margins is published by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, in collaboration with CSRC Press, and distributed by
University of Washington Press.
CSRC In the News
Calexico Chronicle, March 22, 2025
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, March 21, 2025
UCLA Newsroom, March 20, 2025
Imperial Valley Press, March 13, 2025
Spectrum News 1, March 10, 2025
UCLA Newsroom, February 28, 2025
UC Santa Cruz Newscenter, February 13, 2025
De Los, January 31, 2025
UCLA Newsroom, January 30, 2025
USA Today, January 29, 2025
Forbes, January 28, 2025
Daily Bruin, January 23, 2024
Daily Bruin, January 24, 2025
UCLA Newsroom, January 22, 2025
UCLA Division of Physical Sciences, January 23, 2025
