Research Guides: César Chávez Day: Discover Primary Sources: Special Collections and Beyond

Primary Sources: Special Collections and Beyond

In this section of the guide you will find primary sources and areas to look for primary sources on the topic of César Chávez, as well as his life and work.

New to primary sources or need a refresher? Check out the following FAQ's:

What is a primary source?
- Different disciplines have different definitions of primary sources. But, generally speaking, a primary source is an original document relating to a particular subject, experience, time period, or event.
Where can I find primary sources?

Primary sources at The Claremont Colleges

CGU Oral History Program Archive: Ethnic Studies Collection
National Endowment for the Humanities (Division of Education Programs) grant-funded oral history project completed during the spring and fall semesters of 1973. Select interviews include labor, labor practices, activism, and community organizing. Interviewees include Humberto Noe (Bert) Corona (activist), Iburcio Nuñez (agricultural worker), Candido Rivera (labor contractor), and Enrique Vasquez (vineyard worker).
Claremont Colleges Chicano Latino Student Affairs Records
Records of the Chicano Latino Student Affairs (Chicano Studies Center) beginning with its establishment in 1969. Records have been added consecutively every year and include a range of materials, from publications to financial statements, as well as correspondence and promotional material for social events. Student involvement in campus events and political activism are also reflected in newspaper clippings, flyers and other materials in the collection.

Material of particular note for those wishing to learn more about how The Claremont Colleges community remembers and celebrates César Chávez's work include the annual César Chávez memorial celebration, inaugurated in the 2000-2001 academic year.

Social Movements Collection
This collection is made up of various materials from differing social movements throughout the 20th century. Especially in the 1960s, a boom of social movements erupted across the globe and in the United States formed by groups of people feeling frustrated with the continued oppression and lack of recognition throughout the course of history. There are materials from the Black Civil Rights Movement, Chicano Movement, the United Farm Workers, the Young Lords Movement, and surrounding the events of the Zoot Suit riots in Los Angeles, including photographs, banners, posters, Chicano art, and tattoo designs.

Items include photographs of César Chávez and Juan Chávez, a United Farm Workers flag, and a poster advertising a play by El Teatro Campesino at the University of California, Berkeley, entitled, "The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa."

Matt Garcia Papers
This collection contains the research, writing, and teaching materials created by author, educator, and historian Matthew J. Garcia. The materials document Dr. Garcia's work on topics related to agriculture, labor, food, immigration, ethnicity, and popular culture in California. Primary subjects of interest include the citrus industry and Mexican-American laborers in Southern California as well as materials on the Arbol Verde neighborhood in Claremont.

Some items of note:
- Articles about Chávez, a speech from 1969, and more
- Dolores Huerta interview transcripts, 1984
- Jessica Govea oral history, CD July 2, 1976
- Larry Itliong correspondence and notes, 1965-1970 & 1971-1977
- UFW correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters, articles, and more
- Articles related to agricultural strikes and boycotts

Viva Dolores Huerta! Mural
Photographs of a Dolores Huerta mural located on a walkway pillar that connected to Holden Hall, Pitzer College (2007-2014). Labor activist Dolores Huerta signs the mural. Murals at Pitzer College, The Claremont Colleges Digital Library
Dolores Huerta | 2018 Pitzer College Commencement Keynote | May 12, 2018
Pitzer College’s 54th Annual Commencement took place on May 12, 2018 at the Stephen L. Glass Commencement Plaza. Dolores Huerta presented the keynote speech. The Participant - Spring/Summer 2018, Video, Pitzer College

Articles associated with César Chávez's visits to Claremont

"Asks support for UFW at Garrison, 3 May 1974." Claremont Collegian 10 May 1974, p. 1; Claremont Courier 8 May 1974, p. 3.
"Discussion of Claremont appearance." Student Life 7 May 1974, p. 1.
"Will be at Garrison Theater, June 25th in a rally & fiesta of the general assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association." Claremont Courier 19 June 1976, p. 6.
"Chavez to speak at School of Theology: Labor Leader protests 'injustices.'" Collage 25 April 1990, p. 3.

Additional materials:

César Chávez plaque, Claremont McKenna College Commemorative Plaques Collection

Farmworker Movement Documentation Project

Farmworker Movement Documentation Project
A project documenting and providing access to primary source accounts by the UFW volunteers who built the movement

Primary source accounts: photographs, oral histories, videos, essays and historical documents from the United Farm Worker Delano Grape Strikers and the UFW Volunteers who worked with César Chávez to build his farmworker movement.

Calisphere

Calisphere
A free database of unique and historically important artifacts for research, teaching, and curious exploration containing over one million photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more. The collections have been digitized and contributed by University of California campuses and other libraries, archives, and museums throughout the state, including The Claremont Colleges Library.

Search Tips:

Search for materials relating to labor activists, organizations, and movements in quotation marks
- Examples:
  - "César Chávez"
  - "United Farm Workers of America"
Limit your search by type of item
- Example:
  - Select sound to find audio recordings and oral histories