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Finding Aid for the Grace Montanez Davis Papers 1940-1990
39  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing History
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content
  • Related Material
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Grace Montanez Davis Papers,
    Date (inclusive): 1940-1990
    Collection number: 39
    Creator: Davis, Grace Montanez 1926 -
    Extent: 123 linear feet
    Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
    Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
    Abstract: Grace Montanez Davis became politically active in the early 1950s, when she became involved with the Community Service Organization (CSO), a broad-based service organization founded in 1947 by Edward Roybal, Fred Ross, and Saul Alinsky. In 1967 she campaigned for Julian Nava, the first Latino elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. In 1973 Montanez Davis was recruited by Mayor Tom Bradley to be his director of human resources, and in August 1975 Montanez Davis was appointed deputy mayor of Los Angeles. She was first Mexican American woman to fill this position.



    This collection includes materials that document her early career in science as well as her public service as deputy mayor of Los Angeles and her work with Chicano and Latino civil rights organizations. The collection includes personal papers and organizational records that document her life and career, photographs, and her correspondence with several servicemen during World War II, which provides insight into the experiences of Mexican American youth serving in the armed forces.



    Researchers who would like to indicate errors of fact or omissions in this finding aid can contact the research center at www.chicano.ucla.edu
    Physical location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library for paging information.
    Language of Material: Collection materials in English, Spansh

    Access

    Collection is open for research.
    COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library and Archive for paging information.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Grace Montanez Davis Papers, 39, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Acquisition Information

    This collection was donated by Grace Montanez Davis in 2003.

    Processing History

    Processed by Michael Stone, Josue Reynaga, and Estefany Garcia, 2007-2008; 2012
    Processed by Michael Stone, Josue Reynaga, and Estefany Garcia between 2007 - 2012 at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Processing of this collection was generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

    Biography

    Grace Montanez Davis was born in 1926 in Los Angeles and grew up in the community of Lincoln Heights. She attended several schools in Los Angeles, including Immaculate Heart College the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received an MS in microbiology in 1949. She became politically active in the early 1950s when she became involved with the Community Service Organization (CSO), a broad-based service organization founded in 1949 by Edward Roybal, Fred Ross, and Saul Alinsky. During this time, she taught citizenship and voter registration classes and was actively involved in Edward Roybal's campaigns for office. She is one of the founding members of the Mexican American Political Association and served on the Democratic Party Minority Committee of Los Angeles. In 1964 she became the administrative assistant to Congressman George E. Brown Jr. In this position she helped institute the Los Angeles anti-poverty programs developed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. A year later she joined the Economic and Youth Opportunity Agency as a program development specialist.



    In 1967 Montanez Davis helped Julian Nava campaign for and win a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Nava was the first Latino to serve on the school board. From 1966 to 1973 Montanez Davis was a field representative in the U.S. Department of Labor's Los Angeles District Office, where she worked as a manpower development specialist. Then, in 1973, Montanez Davis was recruited by then Mayor Tom Bradley to become the director of human resources for the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. In this capacity Montanez Davis administered grants awarded for the purpose of developing an administrative capacity for coordinating, planning, and evaluating human delivery systems in Los Angeles. In addition, she administered an ACTION grant that developed the City Volunteer Corps, which involved over 200 former Peace Corps and Vista volunteers in various community projects.



    In August 1975 Montanez Davis was appointed deputy mayor of Los Angeles. She was the first Mexican American woman to fill this position. Her main responsibilities included the general management review of the thirty-six city departments and bureaus as well as the management and supervision of the federally funded programs located in the Office of the Mayor. As Deputy Mayor she developed the city's Department of Aging, the Department of Justice, an Office of Volunteers, and an Office for Youth. Montanez Davis was also extensively involved in community relations, representing the mayor at city and international functions and political and community events, particularly those within the Latino community.



    Montanez Davis is recognized as an authority on employment, a champion of women's rights, and a diligent worker for the rights of children—especially the underprivileged. She was also a founding member of the Comision Femenil Mexicana based out of Los Angeles. She is a regular panelist at public forums and university seminars. She has been on the board of directors of MALDEF (The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) and a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. She has received numerous recognitions and awards for her service to the community, including the coveted Aztec Award from the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.

    Scope and Content

    This collection includes materials that document Grace Montanez Davis's early career in science, as well her public service as deputy mayor of Los Angeles and her work with Chicano and Latino civil rights organizations. The collection includes personal papers and organizational records that document her life and career. In addition to a significant number of photographs, the collection also contains her correspondence with several servicemen during World War II, which provides insight into the experiences of Mexican American youth serving in the armed forces.
    The collection is organized into the following series:
    • Series 1. Political / Mayoral Materials
    • Series 2. Personal papers/ Correspondence
    • Series 3. Civil Rights / Women's Rights and other programs
    • Series 4. Latino / Latina Oriented
    • Series 5. California / Los Angeles
    • Series 6. Clippings
    • Series 7. Personal effects and awards
    • Series 8. Latino Politics
    • Series 9. Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF)
    • Series 10. Los Angeles Housing Authority
    • Series 11. Latino Issues
    • Series 12. Latino Politics
    • Series 13. Employment
    • Series 14. Child Care
    • Series 15. Latino Community Correspondence
    • Series 16. National Hispanic Univeristy
    • Series 17. Community Development Department
    • Series 18. Integration
    • Series 19. Public Television Station KCET
    • Series 20. Greater Los Angeles Community Action Agency (GLACAA)
    • Series 21. Women
    • Series 22. Latino Organizations
    • Series 23. Affirmative Action
    • Series 24. Bradley Administration
    • Series 25. Latino Events
    • Series 26. Miscellaneous Issues
    • Series 27. Chicanos / Latinos and Education
    • Series 28. Los Angeles City Department
    • Series 29. Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF)
    • Series 30. Hispanic Art
    • Series 31. Health and Miscellaneous Materials
    • Series 32. Correspondence, UCLA
    • Series 33. Newspaper Clippings, Press Releases, Newsletters, Conference Programs, Correspondence
    • Series 34. Los Angeles City Statistics
    • Series 35. Mexico Earthquake Relief Efforts
    • Series 36. Reading Materials
    • Series 37. Appointments
    • Series 38. Speeches
    • Series 39. AIDS, LGBT
    • Series 40. Social Security, Bradley Administration, Police
    • Series 41. Homeless and Employment
    • Series 42. Civil Rights, Immigrant Youth, Gangs
    • Series 43. Youth, Gangs, Drugs, Crime
    • Series 44. Hispanic Report
    • Series 45. 1980 Census, Olympic Games, Los Angeles County, Transit Commission
    • Series 46. Audiovisual Materials
    • Series 47. Deputy Mayor
    • Series 48. Immigration
    • Series 49. Urban Homestead Project

    Related Material

    Julian Nava Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center



    Julian Nava Papers, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, California State University, Los Angeles



    Julian Nava Papers, Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge



    Edward Ross Roybal Papers, UCLA Library Department of Special Collections



    Edward R. Roybal Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center



    American GI Forum of CA Records, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center



    Ricardo Munoz Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center



    Dionicio Morales Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center



    Comision Femenil de Los Angeles Records, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center



    Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional Archives, California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, UC Santa Barbara Library



    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    Los Angeles
    Grace Davis
    MAOF Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
    MAPA Mexican American Political Association