UA McNair Scholar to Present Research on Oral Histories of Chicano Activists

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Lisa Elizondo, a University of Alabama junior and McNair Scholar who spent her summer collecting oral histories of Chicano-rights activists, will present “Off the Border: Mexican-Americans in Washington State” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, in 125 ten Hoor on the UA campus. 

The presentation is free and open to the public. 

Elizondo’s talk is part of UA’s celebration of Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month during September. UA’s department of American studies, New College and the McNair Scholars Program are sponsoring the event. 

The presentation will feature the findings from oral histories Elizondo gathered during her McNair Scholars Summer Research Internship in June and July under the guidance of Dr. Michael Innis-Jimenez, assistant professor of American studies. 

With McNair and American studies departmental support, Elizondo traveled throughout Washington and to Oakland, Calif., to interview activists who participated in Washington in the Chicano civil rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s. 

These individuals advocated for community inclusiveness and increased educational opportunities for Mexican-Americans, gathered support for the farm workers’ movement and improved access to healthcare for Mexican-Americans. Although similar activism in California is well-known, Elizondo’s study is one of few to document the movement in Washington. 

Elizondo presented a summary of her research as a plenary speaker at the 18^th annual University of California Berkeley McNair Research Symposium on Aug. 7.  She is majoring in American studies and minoring, through New College, in Chicano studies. 

New College and the department of American studies are part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships in the USA Today Academic All American Team. 

The McNair Scholars Program, based in the Graduate School, supports talented first-generation college students in financial need and students from groups historically underrepresented in graduate school in preparing for doctoral study, most notably by conducting original research under the guidance of University faculty. To date, 93 percent of McNair Scholars who have completed the program and graduated from the University have enrolled in post-baccalaureate studies. A TRIO program, McNair receives 85 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Education.