This collection contains materials assembled by Rupert Garcia and document his passion for civil rights and activist art. Garcia was a student at San Francisco State where some of the earliest protests against racism in higher education institutions took place. This collection has material on that event in 1968 and 1969. The bulk of the nearly 600 posters span from the late 1960s through the 1980s. These posters include protest art, civil rights demonstrations and marches, Vietnam War-era protests and rallies, as well as United Farm Workers (UFW)-related events. Additionally, there are writings, publications, teaching papers and other informative materials that Garcia gathered as part of his research and teaching in Chicano Arts and the Chicano Movement, ranging from 1967 to 2000s. Researchers Chicano Studies and Art will find of special value the materials reflecting his intimate knowledge of San Francisco poster and mural art.

Rupert Garcia was born in French Camp, California in 1941. He was raised in Stockton and attended Stockton College, but left in 1962 to enroll in the U.S. Air Force. After serving in Thailand during the Vietnam War, Garcia enrolled in San Francisco State University's art program and earned a B.A. and M.A. in painting. As a student, he became actively involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements. During the San Francisco student strikes of 1968 and 1969, Garcia produced prints in support of the United Farm Workers, civil rights, land rights, and political awareness. In 1981, Garcia received an M.A. in art history from the University of California at Berkeley and went on to teach at San Jose State University, School of Art and Design in San Jose, California.

17.5 Linear Feet (25 document boxes, 9 oversized flat boxes, 1 telescope box, and 556 posters)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

This collection is open for research.