Guide to the San José State University Chicano Oral History Collection
SJSU Library Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2061
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
© 2008
Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the San José State University Chicano Oral History Collection
Collection number: MSS-2005-10-03
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
Finding aid funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Processed by:
- Amanda Grundmann
- Date Completed:
- 2008
- Encoded by:
- Amanda Grundmann
© 2008 Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: San José State University Chicano Oral History collection
Dates: 1968-2005
Collection number: MSS-2005-10-03
Creator:
Mexican American Studies Program
Creator:
Chicano Library Research Center
Collection Size:
6 boxes
2.5 linear feet
Repository:
San José State University Library
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: This collection consists of audio and video tapes and transcripts of interviews with San José area Chicano community leaders
and activists. The oral history project was conducted by the Mexican American Studies Program and the Chicano Library Research
Center at San José State University, now part of the Cultural Heritage Center.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Spanish
Access Restrictions
Access to the Jose Carrasco and Ernestina Garcia interviews is restricted. Requests for access must be approved by the Director
of Special Collections.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions
also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational
purposes.
Preferred Citation
San José State University Chicano Oral History collection, MSS-2005-10-03, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
History
The Chicano Oral History Collection is the result of a joint project between San José State University's Mexican American
Studies Department and the Chicano Library Resource Center (CLRC). Planning for a project to document the experiences and
history of Santa Clara County's Chicano community through oral history began in the late 1970s when Dr. Sylvia Gonzales of
the CLRC investigated the possibility of starting such a project. In 1985 Dr. Samuel Henry, Affirmative Action Officer at
San José State University (SJSU), first proposed an oral history project to the CLRC in order to develop a repository of information
on the lives of Chicanos in Northern California; however, due to funding issues the project was not implemented.
The project finally began as part of a course on oral history in the Mexican American Studies Department. Coursework, training
and interviews with community leaders were conducted from 1988 - 1990. Near the end of the project, in May 1989, the Alma
Chicana Revisted Symposium was held to share the results of this project with the campus and broader communities in a three-day
forum of meetings and presentations. Funding sources for this program came from various library, campus and California State
University (CSU) grants, including Affirmative Action, Faculty Development, and Discretionary Lottery Grants. In 2003, Cultural
Heritage Director Jeff Paul conducted video interviews to be used in a program for the opening of the Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. Library. These interviews document the history of the Cultural Heritage Center from its beginnings as the Chicano Library
Resource Center, and also describe notable events in the history of Chicano activism on campus and in San José.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains audio tapes and transcripts from eighteen oral history interviews conducted in 1988-1990 for the Chicano
Oral History Project. Additional materials include: audio tapes of additional interviews; VHS and Beta tapes; DVDs of recorded
interviews from the Cultural Heritage Center project conducted in 2003; supporting documentation on the Chicano movement and
the Oral History Project; and subject indexes to the transcripted interviews. Dr. Jose Carrasco of SJSU, Dr. Mauro Chavez
of Evergreen College, and Jeff Paul of the CLRC (now a part of the Cultural Heritage Center) served as the principal investigators
for the project, and students in a Mexican American Studies course on oral history conducted the interviews. Interviewees
answered questions related to their background and their experiences in the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s in San
José. Interviewees include Jose Carrasco, Lela Chavez, Rudolfo Coronado, Ernestina Garcia, Humberto Garza, Salvador Gascon,
Jess Jaques, Randall Jimenez, Charley Laustanau, Sofia Mendoza, Pete Michel, Frances Palacios, Linda Peralta-Conway, Vicente
Perez, Gabriel Reyes, Eliodoro Rivera, Bea Robinson, Adrian Vargas, and Jose Villa.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into one series: I. Chicano Oral History Project, 1968-2005.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Chicano movement -- California -- Santa Clara County
Community activists -- California -- Santa Clara County
Mexican American leadership -- California -- Santa Clara County
Oral history
San José State University
Collection Contents
Series I:
Chicano Oral History Project
1968-2005
Creator:
San José State University Mexican American Studies Department
Physical Description: 6 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The focus of this project is on the Chicano Movement in San José and Santa Clara County in the 1960s and 1970s. During this
period, San José was a center of Chicano activism and social change, including some of the earliest Chicano student walkouts
in the state, student activism at SJSU and other area colleges, and community organizing. Key activities discussed in the
interviews include the Fiesta de las Rosas and the emergence of community organizations including the Community Alert Patrol,
the Confederacion de la Raza Unida, the Mexican American Studies Department, United People Arriba, the Mexican American Graduate
Studies Department, the Mexican American Educational Opportunities Program, the Mexican American Community Services Agency,
the Brown Berets for Justice and the Mexican American Student Confederacion.
Other activities investigated include demonstrations and protests such as the Educational Pilgrimage to Sacramento, San José
State Students at National Moratorium in Los Angeles in 1970, the walkouts at Roosevelt Jr. High School and San José City
College, San José United Grape Workers Boycott, and San José State University's Chicano Commencement.
Personal Names
- Lela Chavez
- Rudolfo Coronado
- Ernestina Garcia
- Humberto Garza
- Salvador Gascon
- Jess Jacques
- Randall Jimenez
- Charley Laustanau
- Sofia Mendoza
- Pete Michel
- Frances Palacios
- Linda Peralta-Conway
- Vicente Perez
- Gabriel Allan Reyes
- Eliodoro Rivera
- Bea Robinson
- Adrian Vargas
- Jose Villa
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by interviewee and chronologically by date.
Box 1-3
Audio and Visual Tapes
1978-2003
Box 1-2
Audiocassette Tapes
1978-2000
Box 3
Betamax tapes, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes
1988-2003
Box/Folder 4/1
Chicano Commencement Speech
1991
Box/Folder 4/2
Chicano Movement Newsclippings
1968-1977
Box/Folder 4/3-4/5
Chicano Oral History Interviews
1987-2005
Box/Folder 4/4
Biographies and Summaries
1988-2003
Box/Folder 4/6
Chicano Oral History Project Proposals
1985-1988
Box/Folder 4/7-4/12
Confederacion de la Raza Unida
undated
1969-1977
Box/Folder 4/11
Reports and Planning Documents
undated
1969
Box/Folder 4/13
Fresh Air Interview with Luis and Daniel Valdez
1987
Box/Folder 5/14-6/39
Oral History Transcripts
undated
1988-1990
Box/Folder 6/29
Peralta- Conway, Linda
1989
Box/Folder 6/31
Reyes, Gabriel Allan
1988
Box/Folder 6/33
Robinson, Bea Vasquez
1989
