Video By PBS SoCal
📸 Shaping a Narrative of Resistance
In East Los Angeles during the late 1960s and 1970s, young Chicano activists turned writing, photography, and graphic art into instruments of resistance. Their platform was La Raza, a bilingual newspaper that later became a magazine and one of the most influential media voices of the Chicano Movement.
At a time when mainstream outlets ignored or distorted Latino life, La Raza documented everyday realities alongside moments of confrontation and protest. Its editors and photographers crafted a visual and narrative language that centered community dignity, political urgency, and self representation.
⛪ Humble Beginnings
La Raza launched in 1967 from the basement of Church of the Epiphany. The project emerged from an unlikely collaboration among a white Episcopal priest, a Cuban refugee, and a young Stanford graduate. Initially conceived as a community organizing tool, the publication quickly grew into a sharp political voice. It reflected the rising confidence of Chicano youth who were demanding civil rights, cultural recognition, and control over how their stories were told.
🛠️ The Builders Behind the Movement
Eliezer Risco brought organizing experience shaped by work with Cesar Chavez and El Malcriado, the United Farm Workers’ newspaper. Ruth Robinson became the operational backbone of La Raza. She built the darkroom, ran the press, and trained young writers and photographers who had little formal access to media institutions. Among those she mentored was Anna Nieto Gomez, who later emerged as a leading Chicana feminist writer and organizer.
🎓 Speaking to the Youth
The magazine tackled urgent issues including racism, poverty, policing, education inequality, and the Vietnam War, with particular attention to the disproportionate drafting of Latino youth. La Raza spoke directly to high school and college students, linking their daily experiences to broader political systems. By doing so, it did not simply cover the movement. It helped mobilize it, offering language and images that affirmed youth leadership.
📚 Legacy in Print
Over a ten year run, La Raza trained a generation of writers, photographers, and organizers. Many carried those skills into activism, media, and academia. Today, its archive is preserved at UCLA. As a result, this visual record remains accessible. It stands as a living history of resistance, creativity, and community power.
