Dr. Velia Garcia was a student activist in the Third World Strike at San Francisco State University (SFSU), an early faculty member in Chicano Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, a faculty member and long-time Chair of Raza Studies (now Latino/a Studies) at SFSU, an original steering committee member for the founding of the National Association of Chicano Social Scientists (now the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies), a trailblazer in community service learning, and longtime activist in the Chicano Movement, Women's Movement, Bay Area Prison Movement and a host of other human rights struggles. Materials in the collection include published and unpublished papers, course syllabi, lecture notes, course readers, newspapers, speeches, talks and other personal documents from her long career. Additionally, the collection contains minutes, proposals and other documents from the early years of Chicano Studies at University of California Berkeley and Raza Studies at San Francisco State University. Dr. Garcia’s prisoner advocacy, especially her work with the Vacaville Prison Project, and coverage of the US Prison Movement is also a major focus of the collection.

Dr. Velia Garcia spent over 50 years of her life as a teacher, mentor, scholar and social activist. Dr. Garcia was a student activist in the Third World Liberation Strike at San Francisco State; an early faculty member in Chicano Studies at UC Berkeley; a faculty member and long-time chair of Raza Studies (now Latino/a Studies) at San Francisco State University; an original steering committee member for the founding of the National Association of Chicano Social Scientists (now the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies); a trailblazer in community service learning; and longtime activist in the Chicano Movement, Women’s Movement, Bay Area Prison Movement and a host of other human rights struggles. Much of Garcia’s academic work combined her training in social work, anthropology, and Chicana feminism to weave a historical and contemporary fabric focused on the racialization and criminalization of Black and Latino youth. Her work also prioritized student learning outside of the classroom. One of Garcia’s first and longest community service projects was the Vacaville Prison Project in which students from her Chicano Studies courses at UC Berkeley visited Chicano prisoners in a self-help organization EMPLEO Por Unidad at the California Medical Facility at Vacaville, California. Dr. Garcia joined the Raza Studies Department (SFSU) in the early 1980s with a Master’s degree in Social Work (M.S.W.) and began teaching and developing curriculum while earning her doctorate in anthropology from UC Berkeley. At SFSU, she combined her expertise in criminal justice with an undying passion for the rights and empowerment of the Latino community. Garcia chaired the Department of Raza Studies from 1999-2008 before it was renamed Latina/Latino Studies Department. Under her leadership the department grew by leaps and bounds in size and scope and became one of the focal points in the field of Latino Studies. Dr. Velia Garcia transitioned in October 2012.

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Collection is open for research.