"Brown and Proud" event coming to CSUSB
Pretty interesting event slated for CSUSB next week. I'll be going to hear some interesting perspectives on current issues from students, professors and figures of historical note.
WHAT: "Brown and Proud: 40 Years of Chicano Activism," an educational event highlighting anniversary of 1968 protests in East Los Angeles.
WHEN: Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 27
WHERE: Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center at Cal State San Bernardino
WHO: Activist Sal Castro speaks at noon.
Professors deliver "Immigrants in the Media" presentation at 1:30 p.m.
Panel discussion, "Latinos in the Educational Pipeline," at 2 p.m.
A reading by columnist Gustavo Arrellano at 3:15 p.m.
"Walkout" movie viewing in the University Theater at 4 p.m.
Admission is free and open to public. For information, contact program coordinator Marcia Marx at (909) 537-7314 or by e-mail at mmarx@csusb.edu.
Fuller story below ...
By Robert Rogers
Staff Writer
In 1968, Mexican Americans made their voices heard.
A series of protests in East Los Angeles, known commonly as the Chicano Blowouts, roiled Southern California in opposition to unequal conditions in Los Angeles-area schools.
What began with a dissatisfaction in education became a conflagration of issues whipped together in a turbulent time. Civil rights, the Vietnam War, and Chicano equality sparked in a volatile cocktail.
A local teacher named Sal Castro courted history. He stirred students and organized protests, and was ultimately arrested for his role.
Forty years later, Castro will be joined by other Latino leaders in "Brown and Proud: 40 years of Chicano Activism," a symposium-style event scheduled for May 27 and sponsored by the Cal State San Bernardino's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The event runs from noon to 6 p.m. at the university's Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center.
Castro will speak at noon, followed by a presentation about immigrants' portrayal in the media and a panel discussion on Latinos and public education.
Popular columnist Gustavo Arrellano will also speak.
Professors who helped organize the event say they hope to not only draw attention to Latinos' roles in America's Civil Rights movement, but also to the campus' need to develop a degree-granting ethnic studies program.
"This event expands the education of not just our students but our whole community," said sociology professor Elsa Valdez. "If you look at how Latinos have been portrayed historically, it tends to be very negative and incomplete."
Castro, 74, has remained a fiery and outspoken advocate for Latinos since his Spring, 1968 heyday.
Sociology professor Marcia Marx, another program organizer, said bringing an icon to campus is a good way educate - and inspire.
"As far as we have come, we still have a long way to go," Marx said. "Equality has not really been realized."
[TAG1]robert.rogers@inlandnewspapers.com
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