Celebrate Chicanx/Latinx heritage month in a new library exhibit composed of four exhibits that seek to highlight the history and contributions of the Chicanx/Latinx community at Sac State and beyond.
Exhibit located on the 2nd floor mezzanine of the University Library
Chicanx/Latinx Studies Programs: Past and Present
Curated by Dr. Maria Vargas and Dr. Elvia Ramirez
This exhibit was curated by Dr. Maria Vargas and Dr. Elvia Ramirez (Ethnic Studies). The exhibit contains artifacts documenting the history of the Chicanx/Latinx Studies Program at Sac State. The Chicano Studies Program (now “Chicanx/Latinx Studies”) was founded in 1969 as part of the Ethnic Studies Center, which eventually became the Ethnic Studies Department. The exhibit includes historic and contemporary flyers for Chicanx/Latinx Studies classes, a copy of the first-ever newsletter for the Chicanx/Latinx Studies Program, flyers for campus and community events, and conference programs for the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS).
Further Readings
- Acuña R. The Making of Chicana/o Studies in the Trenches of Academe / Rodolfo F. Acuña. Rutgers University Press; 2011. doi:10.36019/9780813550701
- Aldama FL, González C. Latinx Studies : the Key Concepts / Frederick Luis Aldama and Christopher González. Routledge; 2019.
- Butler, Johnnella E., and John C. Walter, eds. Transforming the curriculum: Ethnic studies and women's studies. State University of New York Press, 1991
- Diaz, Ella Maria. Flying Under the Radar with the Royal Chicano Air Force: Mapping a Chicano/a Art History. University of Texas Press, 2017.
- García AM. Chicana Feminist Thought : the Basic Historical Writings / Edited by Alma M. García. Routledge; 1997.
- Gutiérrez RA, Almaguer T, eds. The New Latino Studies Reader : a Twenty-First-Century Perspective / Edited by Ramón A. Gutiérrez and Tomás Almaguer. University of California Press; 2016. doi:10.1525/9780520960510
- Hames-Garcia MR, Martínez EJ. Gay Latino Studies : a Critical Reader / Edited by Michael Hames- García and Ernesto Javier Martínez. Duke University Press; 2011.
- Lomelí FA, Segura DA, Benjamin-Labarthe E, eds. Routledge Handbook of Chicana/o Studies / Edited by Francisco A. Lomelí, Denise A. Segura, and Elyette Benjamin-Labarthe. First edition. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group; 2019.
- Mirandé A. The Chicano Experience : an Alternative Perspective / Alfredo Mirandé. Second edition. University of Notre Dame Press; 2022.
- Mize RL. Latina/o Studies / Ronald L. Mize. Polity; 2018.
- Noriega CA, ed. The Chicano Studies Reader : an Anthology of Aztlán, 1970-2019 / Edited by Chon A. Noriega [and Five Others]. First electronic edition. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press; 2020.
- Ramos-Zayas AY, Rúa MM, eds. Critical Dialogues in Latinx Studies : a Reader / Edited by Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas and Mérida M. Rúa. New York University Press; 2021.
- Soldatenko M. Chicano Studies the Genesis of a Discipline / Michael Soldatenko. University of Arizona Press; 2009.
80th Anniversary of the Zoot Suit Riots
Curated by Dr. David Flores
The 80th Anniversary of the Zoot Suit Riots exhibit was curated by David Flores (Ethnic Studies) and the art was created by Tony Carranza of Dulce Upfront in Fresno, California. It is a counterpart to the Lowrider exhibit and highlights the notorious 1943 period where U.S servicemen brutally violated the rights and humanity of Mexican Americans, and specifically those wearing zoot suits. Eighty years later, Mexican American cultural production continues to be criminalized and seen as deviant, as seen in the lowrider exhibit. However, Chicanx communities continue creating vibrant, flamboyant, and cultural aesthetics to resist social marginalization and showcase their ethnic pride.
Further Readings
- Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez
- Ramírez Catherine Sue. The Woman in the Zoot Suit : Gender Nationalism and the Cultural Politics of Memory. Duke University Press 2009.
- Alvarez Luis. The Power of the Zoot : Youth Culture and Resistance during World War Ii. University of California Press 2008.
- Engle Margarita and Rudy Gutierrez. Jazz Owls : A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots. First ed. Atheneum Books for Young Readers 2018.
A History of Cultural Resistance
Curated by Dr. David Flores
The Lowrider exhibit was curated by David Flores (Ethnic Studies) with the help of Jazmin from the Serna Center and the centerpiece art was created by Tony Carranza of Dulce Upfront in Fresno, California. The exhibit functions as a contemporary to the zoot suit exhibit, highlighting Chicanx cultural production as powerful forms of resistance against the historic marginalization of Mexican Americans in the United States. The exhibit calls to attention the organizing efforts of lowrider clubs and organizations that have challenged cruising ban ordinances that unjustly target black and brown communities. In June of 2020, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to repeal a three-decade long ban on cruising. Organizing efforts are now focused on ending restrictions on lowriders and lowriding throughout California.
Further Readings
- Chappell Ben. Lowrider Space : Aesthetics and Politics of Mexican American Custom Cars. University of Texas Press 2012. _INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME_http://site.ebrary.com/id/10569766. Accessed 1 Sept. 2023.
- Tatum, Charles M. Chicano popular culture: Que hable el pueblo. University of Arizona Press, 2017.
- Bright, Brenda Jo, and Liza Bakewell. Looking high and low: art and cultural identity. University of Arizona Press, 2022.
Sac State Community Altar
Curated by Dr. Heidy Sarabia
This community altar was curated by Dr. Heidy Sarabia (Sociology), who was taught by her mom, Maria de Jesus Roman Salgado, who is from Tepozonalquillo, Guerrero, Mexico. The altar honors people who passed away but who are remembered lovingly. A collaboration of members of the Chicanx/Latinx Faculty and Staff Association (CHLFSA) and the Serna Center at Sac State, the altar has the elements to welcome our loved ones back on Nov 1st (for children) and Nov 2nd (for adults). The pictures of those we are honoring, and the stories of who they were, salt and water to ease their travels, cempasuchitl flowers to guide them to our altar, papel picado as well as an atecocoli to represent wind and the union of life and death, and some candy to welcome them. Listen to all the stories here.
Further Readings
- Chicanos en Mictlán : Día de los Muertos in California : October 6-December 31, 2000, the Mexican Museum, San Francisco, California / Tere Romo, curator.
- Día de muertos II : risa y calavera.
- El corazón de la muerte : altars and offerings for days of the dead / introduction by Rafael Jesús González
- Day of the dead, a passion for life : día de los muertos, pasión por la vida / textos y fotos por Mary J. Andrade.
- The Days of the Dead : Mexico's festival of communion with the departed / photographs by John Greenleigh ; text by Rosalind Rosoff Beimler = Los Días de Muertos : un festival de comunión con los Muertos en México / fotografías de John Greenleigh ; texto de Rosalind Rosoff Beimler.
- El día de los muertos / por Linda Lowery ; ilustraciones por Barbara Knutson.
- Pablo recuerda : la fiesta del Día de los Muertos / Jorǵe Ancona Díaz.
- Maria Molina and the Days of the Dead / by Kathleen Krull ; illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez.
- A gift for Abuelita : celebrating the Day of the Dead / story by Nancy Luenn ; illustrated by Robert Chapman = Un regalo para Abuelita : en celebración del Día de los Muertos / cuento por Nancy Luenn ; ilustrado por Robert Chapman.
- Just one itsy bitsy bite = Sólo una mordidita chiquitita / by Xavier Garza ; illustrations by Flor de Vita ; translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura = por Xavier Garza ; ilustraciones de Flor de Vita ; traducción de Gabriela Baeza Ventura.