National Endowment for the Humanities (Division of Education Programs) grant
funded a Black Studies-Chicano Studies Oral History Project during the Spring
and Fall semesters of 1973. The joint Project was devised to: provide college
students with fieldwork experience through the use of the oral history technique:
to retain raw primary data from “old-timers” among the Black and Chicano communities
that otherwise might be lost; and to develop a permanent collection of tapes and
interview manuscripts as a resource for present and future researchers.
The Project produced a Chicano Studies Collection representing: 456 pages of
interview manuscript in the original Spanish; and 529 pages of interview manuscript
representing translation of those conducted in Spanish, plus those conducted originally
in English. The collections developed by the two projects are comprised of twenty-one
interview manuscripts deposited in the Honnold Library.
Black Studies | Chicano Studies
Black Studies
Bell, James (b. 1925)
Vice President for Administration & Student Affairs, California State
Polytechnic University
Memoirs. 1973
James Bell became the first African American elected to office in the city
of Pomona when he was elected to the Pomona School Board in 1970. Here, he reminisces
about his life from childhood to his present position as a college administrator.
He discusses his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Columbia
University in New York. He speaks about being the first African American to earn
a Ph.D. in Physical Education from Columbia and his years as a teacher in elementary
and secondary schools and colleges. Mr. Bell also discusses his World War II service
in the first group of African American Marines, his experiences as an African
American Veteran, and his views on the Pomona African American community.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Benning, Otis C. (b. 1939)
Law Student
1973
Otis C. Benning was the son of a coal miner in Alcock Kentucky. He attended
Berea College in Kentucky and Earned his Master’s degree in Education from the
University of the Redlands in 1973. He discusses his work as a correctional counselor
at a maximum security state prison from 1962-1965 and as a rehabilitation counselor
in Southern California from 1965 to 1970. In 1969, Otis Benning founded the Pomona
Clarion, a newspaper devoted to African American affairs. He discusses his identity
as an “Appalachian Black” and his views on African American and Chicano culture.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Dodd, Odie (b. 1889)
Sharecropper
1973
Odie Dodd lived in Texas from 1889 to 1959. He discusses tenant farming and
sharecropping in Texas as well as his experiences as a cowboy. He reflects on
relations between African American and Mexican American communities in Texas.
Mr. Dodd lost his vision in the 1950s and talks about his adaptation to blindness.
He has many interesting things to say about his interest in religion and his opinions
on education and segregation.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Johnson, David Lyle (b. 1935)
Pastor
1973
Reverend Johnson grew up in Louisiana. His father was a sharecropper and a
Methodist minister and his mother was a schoolteacher. He discusses moving with
his mother and brother to Monrovia California in 1944 and attending a segregated
school. He attended Valley College in San Bernardino and earned his B.A. in Theology
from Pasadena College. He discusses entering the Methodist ministry and his decision
to become a Baptist, comparing the two churches. He explains African American
theology and his commitment to it as well as his views on African American identity.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Maxwell, Alice J. (b. 1889)
Teacher, Fieldhand
1973
Alice Maxwell grew up in Alabama, the fourteenth of fifteen children. Her father
was Native American and Mexican and her mother was African American and Native
American. Mrs. Maxwell completed the tenth grade and then taught school. She married
in 1917 and moved to Ohio where she worked as a nurse’s aide, a cook, and a field
hand while raising ten children and a number of grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
In 1969, she moved to California to live with her son. She relates her parent’s
experiences during slavery and her own experiences during the Depression and the
wars of this century. She reflects on race relations in the North and South at
different eras in her life.
Interviewer: Joe Greene, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Mutunga, Stephen Ngui (b. 1941)
Ph.D. student, teacher
1974
Stephen Ngui Mutunga was born in Machakos, Kenya, in the Kamba tribe. His father
was a colonial police officer and a farmer. Mr. Mutunga came to the U.S. in 1962
with an Institute on International Education Fellowship. He earned his Master’s
degree in Education from Eastern Oregon State College and in 1972, entered a doctoral
program at Claremont Graduate School. He discusses African family life and educational
systems, African attitudes towards European settlers, American prejudice towards
Black Americans, as well as attitudes towards Africans. He also comments on changes
in Kenya since he left.
Interviewers: Kern Reese, Pomona College Student, and Alonzo Smith, Black Studies
Center.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Wilson, Eileen (b. 1947)
Director Black Admissions, Claremont Colleges
1974
Ms. Wilson grew up in Los Angeles where she attended public elementary schools
and Catholic high schools. In 1969, she graduated from Pomona College and was
awarded a Watson Fellowship from IBM to travel and study in Africa. She discusses
the experiences of African American students at the Claremont Colleges and the
establishment of the Black Studies Center as well as her views on the Black experience
in the U.S. and in Africa.
Interviewer: Alonzo Smith, Black Studies Center, Claremont Colleges and Cheryl
Martin, Scripps College.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Chicano Studies
Anguiano, Julian (b. 1908)
Rancher, Steel Worker
1973
Julian Anguiano was born in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México. He came to
the U.S. with his family in 1910, fleeing the Revolution. They Lived in Colorado
as Migrant workers. He discusses his schooling in segregated schools in Colorado
and California, his work on ranches and farms, his activities in Mexican and community
organizations. Mr. Anguiano also details his confrontation with Upland school
superintendent over the rights of his children to attend non-segregated schools.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriguez, Pitzer College.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Arredondo, Guadalupe Salas (b. 1905)
Farmworker
1974.
Guadalupe Arredondo was born in Jalisco, México. He was orphaned and
brought to the United States by an uncle in 1917. He discusses ranch life in Jalisco,
migration to the U.S. and the difficulty of finding work during the Depression.
He also compares life in the U.S. and México.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriguez, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Block, Hortensia
Unknown
1973
Born in Santa Cruz, Sonora, México in 1912, at age seventeen she migrated
to the United States but returned annually to visit her family. In 1942, she married
Antonio Block, whose father was an American citizen of Danish descent. Because
his father was employed in México City, Mr. Block grew up there. In Los
Angeles he was an employee of Railway Express and Mrs. Block worked in the garment
industry. They lived in Compton for ten years and because of the influx of blacks
following the Watts riots, they settled in Upland, California. Hortensia Block
tells of her family walking out through the mountains from Sonora, México
to Lochiel, Arizona during the Revolution in 1912 and then returning to México.
She describes Compton as a place where Mexicans and Americans lived well together.
Interviewer: Ramón Magdaleno, Claremont McKenna College.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Corona, Humberto Noe (Bert). (b. 1918)
Activist
1974
Mr. Corona grew up in El Paso, Texas. He discusses El Paso schools, living
conditions, politics and the city’s relationship to Ciudad Juarez, México,
across the border. Mr. Corona moved to California in 1936 and served as a paratrooper
in World War Two. He worked as a labor and community organizer, a counselor and
a college teacher. He discusses his leadership Centro de Acción Social
Autonoma (CASA), an organization for research and legislative study on Mexican
immigration, and the importance of El Partido de La Raza Unida.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Corral, Maria del Refugio Vargas (b.1904)
Migrant Worker
1974
Maria Corral was born in San Isidro, Durango, México and completed the
fifth grade in school. She married in 1921 and moved to the U.S., working on farms
for two years after which she returned to México. In 1949, she moved to
the San Diego area and in 1956 to Los Angeles. She discusses ranch life in Durango,
seasonal work in California fields and packing plants, her acquaintance with Cesar
Chavez, her memories of the Mexican Revolution and her use of medicinal herbs.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Guerra, Jose Garcia (b. 1894)
1974
Jose Guerra was born in Yselta, Texas and grew up there and in Las Cruces,
New México. He moved to California in 1910. He discusses his childhood
and work in California at various jobs. He details his living experiences in East
Los Angeles, developments in the Mexican American community there, and its relations
with other minority groups.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
NuÑez, Tiburcio (b.1909)
Agricultural Worker
1973
Tiburcio Nuñez was born in Nombre de Dios, Chihuahua, México
and moved to the United States in 1928. He lives in El Paso, Texas until 1945
and moved to Chino, California in 1966. He discusses life in México, Texas
and California, the Depression in Texas, and social and labor movements in México
and the U.S.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriguez, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Pacheco, Jesus (b. 1905)
Citrus Worker
1974
Born in Santiago, Zacatecas, México, Jesus Pacheco moved to the U.S.
in 1925. He moved to Pomona, California in 1927 and in 1928 began working for
the Lemon Grove Packing House in Upland. Over the years, he worked as a picker,
pruner, grafter and weeder, eventually becoming a foreman. He married in 1940
and raised seven children. Mr. Pacheco discusses hacienda life in Zacatecas, the
effects of the Revolution on México, his movements from youth to retirement,
life in Upland, housing, discrimination, opportunity, immigration and social conditions
in the Mexican community.
Interviewer: Arnold Carrasco, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Rivera, Candido (b.1898)
Labor Contractor
1973
Born in Purisma, Durango, México, Candido Rivera entered the U.S. in
1912 and worked on the railroads until 1915. He moved to Arizona and worked in
mines for twenty years, after which he moved to California and began a labor contracting
business for agricultural workers. He discusses California agricultural labor
practices in detail and mentions working as a movie extra for Charlie Chaplin.
Interviewer: Rebeca Baron, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Rodriguez, Emilio (b.1913)
Foundry Worker
1973
Born in Villamar, Michoacan, México, Emilio Rodriquez cam to the U.
S. in 1943. he discusses life and politics in México, the Cristero Rebellion,
work as a bracero. He compares education and career opportunities, social changes
and unionization in the U.S. and México.
Interviewer: Laura Rodriquez, Pitzer College.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Sevilla, Pedro Cardenas (b.1895)
Retiree
1973
Born in Michoacan, México, Pedro Sevilla moved to the U.S. in 1918 with
his wife and two children. Seven more children were born in the U.S. He discusses
life in México, the Revolution, border crossing, work and living conditions
in Needles, California and raising a family. The Sevillas lived in the Árbol
Verde section of Claremont from 1928 to 1973 and Mr. Sevilla discusses life there,
among the Mexican community of Claremont.
Interviewer: Marie Torres, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Torrez, Maria Concepción Carrillo (b.1916)
Homemaker
1973
Born in Teocaltiche, Jalisco, México, Maria Torrez moved to the U.S.
with her parents in 1919. In 1924, they settled in the Árbol Verde section
of Claremont. During her childhood, the family picked fruit from May to December
in the San Joaquin Valley. Mrs. Torrez discusses life in Árbol Verde, the
Catholic Church, church activities, and discrimination against Mexicans and African
Americans before, during, and after World War Two.
Interviewer: Jorge Lincon, Pomona College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Vasquez, Enrique (b.1901)
Vineyard Worker
1973
Born in Aguascalientes, México, Enrique Vasquez moved to the U.S. in
1916. He held various jobs throughout the Southwest, including building bordercamps
during the 1920s. From 1927 to 1937, he worked for Guasti Winery in California
and participated in the Comisiones Honoríficas Mexicanas, and organization
protecting the rights of Mexicans in the U.S.. He was the first president of the
Guasti Comisión. He was fired from Guasti for his labor activism, fighting
for wage increases and workers’ rights and subsequently worked for twenty years
at the Virginia Dare Winery. Mr. Vasquez discusses Cesar Chavez’s work and the
living and working conditions of grape pickers.
Interviewer: Rebeca Baron, Pitzer College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Zabala, Felipe (b. 1901)
Farm Worker
1973
Born in San Martin, Michoacan, México, Mr. Zabala moved to Southern
California in 1909. He married in 1921 and had five children. He discusses the
pachuco or “zoot suit” riots of 1943 Los Angeles and living, working and social
conditions from 1910 to the present.
Interviewer: Ramon Magdaleno, Claremont Men’s College.
Interview in English and Spanish.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.