THE CSULB CHICANO & LATINO STUDIES DEPARTMENT AND THE CMSC PRESENT:
LA UNIVERSIDAD DE LA FAMILIA SEMINAR ON THE 1930’s UNCOSTITUTIONAL DEPORTATIONS AND THE SEPARATION OF IMMIGRANT FAMILIES TODAY
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012
CSULB College of Business Administration Room 140A
AGENDA
9:00am – Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Armando Vazquez-Ramos
v Motivational Speaker: Armando Cepeda, Artist & Teacher
9:30am LECTURE: “The 1930’s ‘Repatriation’ Era and Today’s Tragedy” by Prof. Armando Vazquez-Ramos
FILM SCREENING: “A Forgotten Injustice” by Vicente Serrano
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: THE HONORABLE ALBINO PINEDA
~ Q & A, Discussion & Action Plan ~
CLOSING COMMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
v “Dreamers” Press Conference at Plaza Olvera, at 11:30am on Tuesday, May 1st at the Mexican Cultural Institute Gallery
v May Day Marches in L.A.
12: noon ~ Albino Pineda’s Book-signing
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From: “Valenciana, Christine” <cvalenciana@Exchange.FULLERTON.EDU
Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:14:36 +0000
Dear Familia and Friends,
Below are details for the historic formal apology ceremony and plaque installation to survivors and or family members of the 1930 Mexican American deportations and repatriation which is part of Calif. SB 670. The apology became law in 2006. These expulsions often referred to as “repatriation” were violations of U.S. citizen rights and legal Mexican residents. Please circulate to others who may be survivors or family members of survivors and contact cvalenciana@fullerton.edu or at 909-860-5003 for further details or to be included as guest at the event.
Gratefully,
Christine Valenciana, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Elementary and Bilingual Education CSU Fullerton
Daughter of survivor
REPATRIATION PLAQUE INSTALLATION CEREMONY
Ceremony & Program: Sunday, February 26, 2012
LOCATION: La Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2828
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM (Presentations, Proclamations and Statements)
MC: Eva Longoria or Tom Saenz
Father Richard Estrada: Benediction
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel
Welcome, Introductions, Acknowledgments, etc.
The Honorable Esteban Torres
?His personal story of father’s repatriation
The Honorable Cruz Reynoso
?His family’s repatriation
Dolores Huerta
?Her personal story
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
?Present City of Los Angeles proclamation
Supervisor Gloria Molina
?Present County of Los Angeles proclamation
Gov. Jerry Brown
?Present State of California proclamation
?Possible Alternatives: Lt. Gov Newsom, Kamala Harris, Darrell Steinberg, John Perez
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar
?Present letter from President Obama
11:30 AM – 12:00 NOON (Unveiling and reading of plaque)
Release of butterflies and acapella singers (Star Spangled Banner or America the Beautiful)
12:00 NOON – 1:30 PM
Catered Lunch on Patio
Post-event: Photos, video-taping of survivors’ stories
Plaque Wording to be Dedicated on February 26, 2012:
FORCED REMOVAL OF MEXICAN AMERICANS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSIONBeginning in 1929, government authorities and certain private sector entities in California and throughout the United States undertook an aggressive program to forcibly remove persons of Mexican ancestry from the United States. In California alone, approximately 400,000 American citizens and legal residents of Mexican ancestry were forced to leave and go to Mexico. In total, an estimated 2 million people of Mexican ancestry were forcibly relocated to Mexico. Approximately 1.2 million of these people were United States citizens born in the United States. Throughout California, including areas in downtown Los Angeles near this monument, massive raids were conducted in Mexican American communities. These raids targeted persons of Mexican ancestry and indiscriminately characterized these persons as “illegal aliens” even when they were United States citizens or legal residents. These raids resulted in the clandestine removal of thousands of people, many of whom were never able to return to the United States, denied their right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the American dream in their country of birth. As publicly acknowledged by the California State Legislature in California Government Code § 8722 (2005), the State of California apologizes to those individuals that were victims of this “repatriation” program for the fundamental violations of their basic civil liberties and constitutional rights committed during the period of illegal deportation and coerced emigration.
SURVIVORS COMMENTS:
“I just always wanted to come home.” -Teresa Martínez
“If they hadn’t sent us to Mexico, we wouldn’t have had to go through all these hardships. There was no reason to do this because we were American citizens.” -Emilia Castañeda
“I just wanted to serve my country.” -Rúben Jiménez
