Keynote Address - "Chicano Rights Movements: Then and Now" Season 5 (2014)

Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez is a pivotal figure and one of the iconic founding fathers of the Chicano rights movements. He is an attorney (Dallas TX) and Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington; Founder of the Center for Mexican American Studies. Dr. Gutierrez, along with Cesar Chavez, Reies López Tijerina, and Corky Gonzales, stands out as among the most important and influential leaders of the Chicano movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

He was a founding member of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) in 1967, one of the first student activist groups of the Chicano movement; and founding member and past president of the political third-party La Raza Unida Party, which left its mark on the political scene, challenging Democratic and Republican parties alike to court the ignored Mexican American and Latino voter. Dr. Gutiérrez was one of many activists working to change public education on a local level in the 1960s and 70s.

Born in Crystal City, Texas, and educated in local schools, Gutiérrez mobilized the community to demand equal treatment for Chicano students. He was lead organizer of the Winter Garden Project, the project that which led to the now famous walkout of 1969. Dr. Gutiérrez has been organizer, founder and co-founder of several other organizations such as the Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC), Ciudadanos Unidos, Obreros Unidos Independientes, Becas Para Aztlán, Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement, Northwest Voter Registration and Education Project, and Grupo de Apoyo para Immigrantes Latin Americanos (GAILA).

He has been the subject of many articles and film documentaries, including the PBS video series, CHICANO! The Mexican American Struggle for Civil Rights, and is mentioned in many Chicano history and political science books. He was also featured as an "Innovator" in the PBS documentary series - School: the Story of American Public Education. Most recently Dr. Gutiérrez was featured in a segment of: “Prejudice and Pride: the Chicano Movement”, which was part of the PBS series - "Latino Americans."

Introduction / Moderator:
- Mary Valdemar, Vice President, Latino Faculty, Staff & Administrators Association, San Bernardino Community College District, and Co-Founder, Core Team & Volunteer Support Staff, Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy and Action (ChiCCCAA)

Speaker:
- José Angel Gutiérrez, Attorney, Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington, founding member of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO), and founding member and past president of La Raza Unida Party.

This address is date/time stamped: March 27, 2014; 4:20 p.m to 5:00 p.m.