Sacramento Movimiento Chicano and Mexican American Education Oral History Project: Stories from La Gente

The Donald and Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives presents an exhibit showcasing a decade-long oral history project documenting Sacramento's Chicano civil rights movement from 1965-1980. These oral history interviews, conducted in 2014, 2015, and 2023, capture the lived experiences of everyday people who used their unique skills to support various aspects of the Movimiento Chicano.

The exhibit, on display in the Reading room this Fall, explores three central themes:

1. Student Organizing & Activism, highlighting groups like MEChA and student efforts that successfully pressured Sacramento State to diversify faculty and establish innovative programs like the Barrio Art Program;
2. Community Organizing & Engagement, featuring organizations such as Sacramento Concilio, the Royal Chicano Air Force, and Washington Neighborhood Center that bridged grassroots activism with cultural preservation; and the
3. Mexican American Education Project & Educational Reform, a 1968 pilot program that trained Latino educators and fundamentally changed how Mexican American students were served in schools.

These narratives demonstrate direct connections between past struggles and present realities, showing how 1960s activism established bilingual education models, diversified university faculty, and created community infrastructure still relied upon today. The exhibit, available in English and Spanish with digital companion materials, preserves critical counter-stories that expand our understanding of civil rights movements on our campus and in the Sacramento region.

Digital companion to the exhibit is presented in English and Spanish.