Department Endowment
¡Que Viva La Chicana Brava!
SAVE THE DATE: Tribute to Gracia Molina de Pick
The Mesa College Chicana/o Studies Department and the Mesa College Foundation will host a tribute to renowned educator, activist, philanthropist and feminist, Gracia Molina de Pick, on Thursday, August 8, at 5:30 p.m.
This special evening will be filled with friendship, the sounds of mariachi, Mexican antojitos, a silent auction, and brief comments from individuals whose lives have been touched by the passion, teachings, philanthropy and activism of Gracia Molina de Pick, who is expected to attend.
Proceeds from the event will support the design, fabrication and installation of gallery signage, a plaque, and a biographic narrative for the Gracia Molina de Pick Glass Gallery at Mesa College. The six-panel glass gallery, located in the rotunda of the Humanities, Languages and Multicultural Studies Building, will feature a series of displays. The first exhibit, dedicated to Gracia, will debut in Spring 2014.
Tickets may be ordered through Eventbrite (processing fees apply) . A portion of ticket fees and donations are tax deductible. Those interested in top tier donation levels of $500 or more are asked to call 619-388-2759.
We encourage everyone whose lives have been touched by Gracia to join us for this event, and to give generously to support the naming of the Gracia Molina de Pick Glass Gallery at Mesa College.
Gracia Molina de Pick/Chicana and Chicano Studies Department Endowment Information: Established 2013
Congratulations on $80,000 Gift Establishes Chicana/o Studies Department Endowment at San Diego Mesa College By Rita Sanchez Professor Emeritus
Congratulations Chicana Chicano Studies!
When two people meet and talk at a family gathering, miracles can happen. In fact the defining moment took place at my daughter Lucia's wedding, a celebration in itself. That was just over a year ago on 11/11/11. The core of the conversation initiated between guests Gracia Molina de Pick and Mike Ornelas became “the future of Chicana Chicano Studies.” Sra. Gracia has dedicated her life to the cause and Mike Ornelas has fought for the very life of Chicano Studies daily at Mesa College. That day, Sra. Gracia offered to contribute a generous endowment to Chicana Chicano Studies. In keeping with her spirit of generosity and her lifelong dedication to the cause of Chicana Chicano Studies when she first signed El Plan de Santa Barbara at UCSB in 1969, that exchange between two activists for justice has now been sealed, something else nice to celebrate at a wedding feast.
The rest is history; in 1970, soon after the founding of Chicana Chicano Studies at Mesa, the longest running Chicano Studies department, El Profe Cesar Gonzalez was hired to Chair the department. A young Professor of History Mike Ornelas was hired next and became his sidekick and colleague, life-long friend, and confidant—partners for justice. It had to be this way to be able to continue the never-ending fight to preserve what had just been won, a fledgling department. The department's first feminist, Cesar Gonzalez, Professor of Literature, elicited the efforts of friends and sister poets and novelists to promote the First Chicana Panel with, now literary giants, Ana Castillo, Lucha Corpi, and Alma Luz Villanueva at Mesa College. It was funded by the Humanities Institute and attended by a campus wide audience. That year was 1990. However, twenty years had passed before the first full time Chicana Professor was hired.
The Celebration of feminist history yesterday at Mesa was a giant step from the days when fighting to hire a woman and building the department was a first priority. The fight continues as it was observed at yesterday’s homage to Chicano Park leader Tommie Camarillo. This event, hosted by the new generation of Chicana Activists, Cesar Lopez, Manuel Velez, Victoria Chavez and bright student contributors, and others, proves that the commitment to continue the fight for justice, inclusion, and equality for women has not ended. It is also a great reminded that inequalities continue to exist on campuses and that a strong force of student and faculty activists is ready and willing to withstand them. Congratulations to Chicana Chicano Studies, its founders and its vision for the future.
¡Que Viva La Chicana Brava!