In East Los Angeles during the late 1960s and 1970s, a group of young activists used creative tools like writing and photography as a means for community organizing, providing a platform for the Chicano Movement in the form of the bilingual newspaper.
In the 1960s and 70s, a group of young idealists-activists came together to work on a community newspaper called La Raza that became the voice for the Chicano Movement. With only the barest resources, but a generous amount of dedication, these young men and women changed their world and produced an archive of over 25,000 photographs. Hear their thoughts on the times and its relevance today, while perusing through some photographs not seen in public for decades in this series of narrated slideshows.
Click right or left to look through the images from the 1960s and 70s. Hit the play button on the bottom right corner to listen to the audio.
1/16 Man holds a "by any means necessary" poster at Roosevelt Walkouts | Devra Weber, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
2/16 The US Organization, founded by Maulana (Ron) Karenga, marches in support of the LA 13. "The black community assisted us throughout our struggles," comments Joe Razo | La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA CSRC
3/16 Protesters in la Marcha por los Tres in front of L.A. City Hall | Daniel Zapata, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
4/16 A man on stage during a Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Los Angeles | La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
5/16 A man prostrates while another man speaks during a Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Los Angeles | La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
6/16 Protesters in la Marcha por los Tres in front of L.A. City Hall | Daniel Zapata, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
7/16 Protesters during la Marcha por los Tres outside of the United States Courthouse in L.A. | Pedro Arias, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
8/16 Protesters at a demonstration against the Chilean coup d'état outside of the L.A. Federal Building | Pedro Arias, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
9/16 Protesters during la Marcha por los Tres outside of the United States Courthouse in L.A. | Pedro Arias, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
10/16 Protesters at a demonstration against the Chilean coup d'état outside of the L.A. Federal Building | Pedro Arias, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
11/16 Protesters at a demonstration against the Chilean coup d'état outside of the L.A. Federal Building | Pedro Arias, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
12/16 Protesters demonstrate against President Richard Nixon in the "Dump Nixon" march from Echo Park to MacArthur Park | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
13/16 Protesters demonstrate against President Richard Nixon in the "Dump Nixon" march from Echo Park to MacArthur Park | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
14/16 Protesters demonstrate against President Richard Nixon in the "Dump Nixon" march from Echo Park to MacArthur Park | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
15/16 Girl holds "Give Nixon Some Time" sign at "Dump Nixon" march from Echo Park to MacArthur Park | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
16/16 The anti-Vietnam War demonstration down Wilshire Boulevard | La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Narrated Photo Essay: A Time of Many Revolutions
Moctesuma Esparza
My name is Moctesuma Esparza and during the mid to late-60s, I was a high school student who was active in the social civil rights movement of Chicanos. We could see all the way around us that there an anti-war movement, an African-American-led civil rights movement. The woman's movement was beginning to come into its own, building on the earlier efforts of many, many people. There was something we could do as Chicanos that would build on the work of those that had come before us. I was part of that.
Top Image: A government-sponsored demonstration for workers in support of President Luis Echeverria in Mexico City | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
