Collection Guide
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Guide to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund records
M0673
M0673
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Table of contents
Description
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund records contain the administrative records, litigation files, and
special program files of one of the most influential and effective civil rights organizations focusing on defining and protecting
the civil rights of Mexican Americans throughout the United States.
Background
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund was incorporated in 1967 by Pete Tijerina, following a meeting convened
by Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, between Tijerina, San Antonians Albert Peña and Roy Padilla, and Bill Pincus,
a Ford Foundation representative. When Pincus said that the Foundation would be willing to consider a proposal for funding
a Mexican American legal organization, Tijerina filed the papers for incorporation, conducted research for writing the proposal,
and made an organizing tour of five southwestern states. Tijerina organized MALDEF committees in California, Colorado, Arizona,
and New Mexico, as well as his native Texas. In May 1968, MALDEF received a 2.2 million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation
to be used over five years, and in August 1968 MALDEF began work.
Extent
3415.0 Linear feet
(1189 cartons, 2691 boxes, 35 flat-boxes, 12 half-boxes, 55 oversized flat-boxes, 11 card-boxes, 9 photo-boxes, 2 cassette-boxes,
36 large map-folders, 10 small map-folders)
Restrictions
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94305-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Availability
A small amount of material that contains privacy and confidentiality issues has been closed for 75 years from the date the
material was created. Within this guide, this material will be marked with a Restricted Material note at the file level, specifying
the extent of the closure period.