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League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 10 (Davenport, Iowa) records

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0733

  • Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

The records of LULAC Council 10 date from 1932 to 2019 and measure 12.45 linear feet. The records are organized in the following series: History, Administration, Activities, Organizations and activism, Scholarship Program, Spanish-Speaking Elderly Program, State and national LULAC,Reports, Newspaper clippings, Photographs, and Newsletters.

The History series (1959-1979) includes a copy of LULAC Council 10's charter, newspaper articles, histories of the council, and a video-taped interview with Henry Vargas, a founding member of the council. Also included is raw footage of interviews with five World War II veterans who were members of Council 10: Anthony Navarro, Samuel Vasquez, Maurice Vasquez, Michael Cervantes, and Vincent Martinez. The interviews were recorded in 2007 at the LULAC club in Davenport by Iowa Public Television for "The War: A Ken Burns Film."

The Administration series (1969-2004) includes membership packets and brochures, member lists and minutes of meetings, as well as financial records and correspondence.

The Activities series (1969-2009) reflects the range of activities that Council 10 members participated in. It contains the council's annual fiesta programs, the 1971 Women's International Bowling Congress championship certificate won by Council 10's women's team, and accounts of Cesar Chavez's 1992 visit to Davenport to receive the prestigious Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom award of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport.

The Organizations and activism series (1967-1982) provides insight into organizations that Council 10 members led or participated in. In 1968, Council 10 formed the Quad City Grape Boycott Committee under the leadership of Davenport's John Terronez, who served concurrently as Iowa state LULAC director. The grape boycott committee folders contain newsletters, newspaper articles, flyers and brochures about the committee's activities. Also included are materials from the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC). A substantial run of the UFWOC newsletter El Malcriado, published in Delano, California, can be found in the Newsletters series. The Area Board for Migrants (ABFM) folders explain the formation, funding, and programs of the ABFM under the leadership of Ernest Rodriguez, a founding member of LULAC Council 10. These folders contain information about a job placement program initiated by the ABFM known as Trabajo that was coordinated by Council 10 member Mary Terronez. The Immigration and employment folder includes the 1976 response from the U.S. Department of Defense to a complaint against International Harvester Corporation filed by LULAC Council 10 president Henry Vargas. Also included in the immigration and employment folder are the minutes of a 1982 meeting called by Council 10 in response to "Operation Jobs Sweep."

The Scholarship program series (1970-1989) illustrates the organization and planning behind the highly successful LULAC scholarship program undertaken by Council 10 members to provide scholarships for Mexican American students to pursue college education.

The Spanish-Speaking Elderly Program (SSEP) series (1973-1975) details the program initiated by Council 10 to meet the needs of elderly Spanish-speaking residents of the Davenport area. The records of the SSEP include board minutes, meetings and newsletters that reflect the activities of the many members of Council 10 who supported the program.

The State and national LULAC series (1962-2001) comprises convention programs and related materials, including the 1968-1970 correspondence of state LULAC director John Terronez. The bulk of the Reports (1968-1976) are government publications relating to the history and social and economic circumstances of Mexican Americans living in Iowa.

The Photographs series (1959-1969) includes the exhibit boards from the LULAC club in Davenport, which contain several photos from the 1967 and 1968 state LULAC conventions. These boards have been digitized and can be viewed on the Iowa Digital Libraries site. Many of the individuals in the photographs have been identified by members of LULAC Council 10.

The Reports series (1968-1976) includes reports from the Committee on Mexican American Affairs, Washington D.C., Committee for the Spanish Speaking, Washington D.C., and Iowa State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The Newspaper clippings series (1963-2018)includes general clippings, press releases, LULAC history clippings, an issue of the Hispanic Journal from 1998,and a few issues from Hola America and Hola Iowa from early 2000s.

The Photographs series (1920-2009)includes a few general photographs, LULAC exhibit boards photographs, family pictures, human rights protest pictures, and picurres from national LULAC 80th anniversary.

The final and largest series in the collection is the Newsletters (1961-2005). It is divided into subseries for LULAC, Iowa, and individual states. There is a fairly complete run of the newsletters of LULAC Council 10 from 1994, but only one partial newsletter (1961) exists for the earlier period. There is a brief run of the Iowa state LULAC newsletter, LULAC Glances, and a few newsletters of the national organization, LULAC News, including the 1963 memorial edition published following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many of the newsletters are local Chicano publications from the Southwest and Midwest, dating from the 1960s to the early 1970s. El Malcriado, the bi-monthly publication of the United Farm Workers, during and after the Delano, California, grape strike is contained in this series as well as newsletters of the American G.I. Forum, The Forumeer.

Dates

  • Creation: 1932-2019

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

LULAC Council 10 received its charter in Davenport on February 16, 1959. It was the fifth LULAC council to be formed in Iowa and its officers were sworn in at the second annual Iowa state LULAC convention, held in Fort Madison on May 30, 1959. The national LULAC organization was founded in Texas in 1929 to promote the rights of Mexican American citizens of the United States and to preserve the rich traditions and cultural heritage of its members. LULAC expanded into the Midwest during the late 1950s under the leadership of Felix Tijerina who served as president of the national organization from 1956 to 1960. Prior to the formation of LULAC Council 10, four other councils were formed in Iowa: LULAC Council 304 (Fort Madison, 1957); LULAC Council 306 (Des Moines, 1957); Des Moines Ladies Council 308 (1957); LULAC Council 319 (Mason City, 1958).

The members of Davenport LULAC Council 10 engaged in a wide range of social and political activities. They held annual fiestas and queen competitions and participated in the national LULAC scholarship program to fund educational opportunities for Mexican American students to pursue college education. The council maintained a rigorous civil rights agenda and, during the 1960s, collaborated with other activists to secure fair housing legislation and the appointment of a full-time director to the Davenport Human Relations Commission in 1970. Council 10 actively supported the boycott of California table grapes during the late 1960s when they formed the Quad City Grape Boycott Committee. They promoted bilingual education in Iowa schools and successfully lobbied the state legislature to form the Iowa Spanish Speaking Peoples Commission, which was signed into law by Governor Ray in 1976.

Extent

12.45 Linear Feet

2 Cassettes (2 audiocassettes [AC 1854 and AC 1855] in audiocassette collection, photographs in box 26)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The members of Davenport LULAC Council 10 engaged in a wide range of social and political activities including annual fiestas, civil rights and fair housing.

Method of Acquisition

The records (donor no. 995) were donated by LULAC Council 10 in 2006 and subsequent years.

Existence and Location of Originals

Mujeres Latinas Digital Collection: https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Alatinas

Related Materials

Ernest Rodriguez papers (IWA).

Mujeres Latinas Project oral history interviews (IWA).

Muscatine Migrant Committee Records (unprocessed).

Lucy & Henry Vargas papers (IWA).

Physical Description

Photographs in boxes 8 and 151 videocassette [V429]1 DVD [d0051]

Title
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 10 (Davenport, Iowa) records IWA0733
Author
June Silliman, Janet Weaver, 2009, Shirley Ratliff, 2018, 2019
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)