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Escalante (Alicia) papers
CEMA 183
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Title: Alicia Escalante papers
Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 183
Language of Material:
English,
Spanish; Castilian.
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
20.42 Linear Feet
(25 document boxes, 5 flat oversize boxes,1 audiotape reel)
Creator:
Escalante, Alicia
Date (inclusive): 1961-2001
Date (bulk): 1960s-1980s
Abstract: Papers of Alicia Escalante (1933-2022). The bulk of the material ranges from the 1960s–1980s, and consists of correspondence,
speeches, articles, publications, and internal organizational files that document her activism and sociopolitical involvement
as a Chicana activist who championed welfare rights, economic justice, and women's rights in Los Angeles during the 1960s
Chicano Movement.
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library.
This collection is open for research.
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through
the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to
the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator
and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department
of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of
California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB 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. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of Item], Alicia Escalante papers, CEMA 183. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara
Library
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Alex and Alicia Escalante, 2017.
"Alicia Escalante [(1933-2022)] was born in El Paso Texas, in 1933 to what she described as a traditional family. She was
the second oldest of seven children, and she shared an intense bond with her mother. After 15 years of marriage, Escalante's
mother decided to divorce her father due to his infidelity, alcoholism and abuse. At the divorce court proceedings, her father
was granted custody of all seven children, because of her mother's lack of employment and housing. After the divorce, Escalante's
mother moved to Los Angeles to live with her sister and find work in hopes that she might be able to regain custody of her
children. Devastated to be separated from her mother, and miserable with "the oppressive situation" of living with her father's
extended family (who frequently blamed her mother for the divorce), Alicia Escalante vowed to be reunited with her mother
at any cost. At the age of nine, Escalante jumped into an open freight car of the train that ran behind her house. She was
determined to make it to California by any means necessary. After the police discovered her, her father allowed her to continue
on her journey to California, where her legacy would begin.
As Alicia entered adulthood and began to forge a life for herself, it became very clear that there were many inequalities
that surrounded her. A single mother of five, she was swallowed by poverty and thus began to recognize the welfare system
as punitive and oppressive. Alicia felt that the women forced to seek services were never treated with any dignity or respect.
This would drive her to become involved with the Chicano Movement and eventually to create the East LA Welfare Rights Organization
in 1967. She was able to get the organization started with the assistance of her family practitioner, Doctor Carlo. He set
her up with an office and phone where she was able to begin mobilizing the community on welfare rights issues surrounding
medical services cuts. Alicia was concerned about the mistreatment of women, specifically Blacks and Latinas, who found themselves
on welfare 'through no fault of their own.'
As part of the Welfare Rights Movement and Chicano Movement she became very close with leaders like Corky Gonzalez and Gloria
Arellanes. After political and legal persecution as a result of her activism, Escalante spent some time in Denver teaching
Spanish and welfare rights at Corky Gonzales' Escuela Tlatelolco. She was also involved with protesting police brutality,
the Vietnam War, and researching world hunger.
Escalante's Chicana Welfare Rights Organization provided community workshops on welfare policies and rights, translated welfare
forms for Spanish speaking families, aided people in applying for aid and grievances, and even opened a café to help feed
the community while training welfare women for work. She also worked to create a bilingual newspaper through her organization,
La Causa De Los Pobres. Alicia began to realize her writing could be used to mobilize and empower people to enact change. Although her newspaper
was short lived, she wrote many articles for various news outlets including
Encuentro Femenil and
La Raza Newspaper.
Alicia worked to transform Welfare policies on a state and national level, even participating in the Poor People's Campaign
march on Washington. She was also involved in policy change around the sterilization of women of color and in shaping early
Chicana feminist thought during the Chicana Movement. After moving to Sacramento California, Alicia continued to advocate
for underrepresented women and youth as a Social Worker."
Biography created by: Lizette Esquivel. Retrieved from Chicano por mi Raza website http://chicanapormiraza.org/chicanas/alicia-escalante
Alicia Escalante (1933-2022) was Chicana activist who championed welfare rights, economic justice, and women's rights in Los
Angeles during the 1960s Chicano Movement.
Escalante's papers span about 20 linear feet. The bulk of the material ranges in date from the 1960s–1980s, and consists of
correspondence, speeches, articles, publications, and internal organizational files that document her activism and sociopolitical
involvement.
Escalante organized the East Los Angeles Welfare Rights Organization (ELAWRO) in 1967 after tiring of the indignities that
poor, single mothers of color suffered at the hands of local authorities. She was involved in (and arrested for) participation
in multiple social and economic justice movements, including Salvador Castro's East Los Angeles walkouts in 1968, and Ricardo
Cruz's Catolicos por la Raza's demonstration at St. Basil's Church in 1969. In 1969, Escalante also created
La Causa de los Pobres, a bilingual newspaper that was dedicated to bridging the language barriers between the government and Spanish speaking communities
in regards to welfare rights reform.
This collection is arranged into six series: Personal and biographical files, Correspondence, Organizational activity, Publications,
Subject files, and Audiovisual material. Materials within the series are listed in alphabetical order, then by date.
Researchers may also wish to consult:
Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional, CEMA 30. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library.
Ricardo Cruz/Catolicos por La Raza papers, CEMA 28. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Hispanic American women political activists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives
Women civil rights workers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives
Welfare rights movement -- United States
Welfare recipients -- Civil rights -- Research -- United States
Personal correspondence
Business correspondence
Informational works
Primary sources
Escalante, Alicia -- Archives