Narrated Photo Essay: Gil Lopez on Continuing the Struggle for Social Justice Today | KCET
Title
Narrated Photo Essay: Gil Lopez on Continuing the Struggle for Social Justice Today
Artbound "La Raza" is a KCETLink production in association with the Autry Museum of the American West and UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.
In the 1960s and 70s, a group of young idealists-activists came together to work on a community newspaper called La Raza that became the voice for the Chicano Movement. With only the barest resources, but a generous amount of dedication, these young men and women changed their world and produced an archive of over 25,000 photographs. Hear their thoughts on the times and its relevance today, while perusing through some photographs not seen in public for decades in this series of narrated slideshows.
Click right or left to look through the images from the 1960s and 70s. Hit the play button on the bottom right corner to listen to the audio.
Gil Lopez
My name is Gilbert Lopez. I was active with La Raza magazine/newspaper thereafter La Raza Unida, and at the time, I was also a student at Roosevelt High School. Probably one of the most enlightening experiences I had at La Raza was becoming a photographer. I think the photos tell a story of what were the conditions at the time. Many demonstrations, pickets and union organizing and things that we did, we show how things — tough at the time — that still exist today. If people can translate those photos and say, "What's changed?" not to be sarcastic or cynical about it, but to say, "Wait a minute. If those guys had to put their foot in the door and they were improving things for us to have these positions, we should put our foot in the door and we should continue those types of struggles.
Hear more from the other photographers here.
More La Raza Stories
Top Image: Protesters with "We Will Not Be Intimidated" sign at the Marcha Por La Justicia rally at Belvedere Park | Oscar Castillo, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Audio mix by: Michael Naeimollah
Connect with KCET
Support the Articles you Love
We are dedicated to providing you with articles like this one. Show your support with a tax-deductible contribution to KCET. After all, public media is meant for the public. It belongs to all of us.
Keep Reading
-
In honor of Black History Month, KCET and PBS SoCal will showcase a curated lineup of enlightening programs to bolster awareness and understanding of racial history in America.
-
"Sleep No More" theater director Mikhael Tara Garver unearths the L.A. River's 8-mile deep stories and histories in an ongoing work of experimental theater called "Rio Reveals."
-
Joseph Rodriguez’s photographs of the LAPD in 1994 is a deeply personal, political act that still resonates in today’s political climate.
-
Tom LaBonge, a larger-than-life character in city hall meetings and effusive champion of Los Angeles, has passed away suddenly.
- 1 of 415
- next ›
Full Episodes
-
Artbound
Artbound
S11 E1: Light & Space
Season 11, Episode 1
Robert Irwin, Larry Bell and Helen Pashgian explore perception, material and experience.
-
Artbound
Artbound
S11 E2: The New West Coast Sound - An L.A. Jazz Legacy
Season 11, Episode 2
Drummer Mekala Session and other artists carry forward Los Angeles’ rich jazz legacy.
-
Artbound
Artbound
S11 E3: CURRENT:LA FOOD
Season 11, Episode 3
Artists created works to spark conversation about L.A. and sustainable futures.
-
Artbound
Artbound
S11 E4: The Watts Towers Arts Center
Season 11, Episode 4
The Watts Towers Arts Center was born out of the resilience of 1960s Black L.A.
-
Artbound
Artbound
S10 E1: Masters of Modern Design - The Art of the Japanese American Experience
Season 10, Episode 1
From the typeface of “The Godfather” book cover to the Noguchi table, the influence of Japanese American artists and designers in postwar American art and design is unparalleled. Learn how the World War II incarceration affected their lives and creations.
- 1 of 12
- next ›
Comments