Casares (Arturo) Papers, 1968-2008, Date acquired: 06/05/2008, bulk 1968-1975

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Summary

Title:
Arturo Casares Papers
Dates:
1968-2008, Date acquired: 06/05/2008, bulk 1968-1975
Creators:
Casares, Arturo
Extent:
0.42 Linear Feet
Language:
English , Spanish; Castilian .
Preferred citation:

Identification of item, folder title, box number, Arturo Casares Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.

Background

Scope and content:

The Arturo Casares Papers (1968-2008) document the establishment of the Barrio Station in San Diego and Casares' involvement in the Chicano Movement. Highlights include photographs of the UFW grape strike and the Chicano Moratorium, Casares' English class journal with entries discussing the formation of a Mexican-American Studies program at San Diego State College, old Barrio Station Newsletters, and documents regarding the Chicano Park Incident in which police arrested Casares. Filed alphabetically, the collection consists of correspondence, course papers, newsletters, and photographs. The majority of materials date from 1968 to 1975.

Biographical / historical:

Born in 1943, Arturo Casares grew up in Del Rio, Texas, where he attended a segregated school. Casares moved to Long Beach, CA in 1960. He finished high school and married at the age of 19. He then attended Long Beach City College. He received an Associate's degree in Liberal Studies and transferred to San Diego State College in 1968. At SDSC, Casares majored in Spanish and minored in History. Later, Casares received a Master's from the University of New Mexico in Counseling.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Casares became active in the Mexican American Youth Association (MAYA), an activist Chicano group, and later in the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA). In addition, Casares worked as a teacher's aide at Logan Elementary school and San Diego High School. Working at these schools once again exposed Casares to gang activities and the limited scholastic resources associated with impoverished neighborhoods. As a result, he founded Barrio Station, an outreach center for low-income Mexican-American families, which still exists today. The Station offers tutoring, recreational activities, and services for at-risk youth.

In addition, Casares began attending student conferences to discuss the implementation of El Plan de Santa Barabara, which sought to establish Chicano and Mexican-American studies programs at the university level. He also became active in the free speech and Chicano movements, supporting Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers (UFW) strikes and protests. He was also Vice Chairman of the Chicano Federation. In April of 1971, Casares and two other men, David Llamas Jose Benavides, were arrested at the first anniversary celebration of Chicano Park for obstructing a police officer. The event became known as the "Chicano Park Incident."

Today, Casares continues his community work.

Acquisition information:
Arturo Casares
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Amanda Lanthorne
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2020-11-10 13:43:08 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

Identification of item, folder title, box number, Arturo Casares Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.

Location of this collection:
Library and Information Access
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8050, US
Contact:
(619) 594-6791
askscua@mail.sdsu.edu
Website