The Enriqueta Chavez Papers (1955-2000) document Chavez's work as a student activist, educator, counselor, and advocate for bilingual education.  Highlights include materials relating to the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán's (MEChA) role in the operation and administration of the Mexican-American Studies Department.  The majority of material dates from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s and primarily details Chavez's affiliation with MEChA, her tenure as a lecturer in the Mexican-American Studies Department, and her early activism. Her papers include correspondence, syllabi, articles, course files, handouts, newspapers, conference material, and reports. The collection is divided into three series: the Groups and Organizations Files (1965-2000), Education Files (1962-1980), and Publications (1955-1980).

Enriqueta Chavez (neé Valenzuela), also known as Henri, grew up in Imperial Valley, California. During her childhood, her family went to Fresno every summer to work as grape pickers. After graduating high school in 1968, Chavez attended San Diego State University. She received a Bachelor of Science in Community Health and Chicano Studies in 1973, followed by a Master of Science in Counselor Education one year later. While a student at SDSU, Chavez helped to found the SDSU chapters of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) and Las Chicanas. She attended the first National Chicano Youth Conference in Denver, Colorado, and became very active in the Chicano movement. In 1974, Chavez began lecturing in the Mexican-American Studies Department at SDSU (now named the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department). As a lecturer, Chavez helped to develop the curriculum of the department. Her classes generally centered on Chicana issues.

12.51 Linear Feet

The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.  Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

This collection is open for research.