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News Release

Exhibition Shares History Of Colegio César Chávez, The First Independent, Four-Year Accredited Chicano/a College In The United States. (Photo) -01/21/25

Colegio César Chávez: The Legacy Lives On / El legado sigue vivo is on view at the Oregon Historical Society now through April 27, 2025

 

Portland, OR — Located in Mt. Angel, Oregon, Colegio César Chávez was the first independent, four-year accredited Chicano/a college in the United States. In operation for ten years from 1973 to 1983, the college represented the needs and activism of the Chicano/a community in Oregon at a time when many Latino and Latina immigrants were fighting for rights across the nation. Its unique and innovative educational philosophy incorporated a holistic, integrated, community-based approach for students whose needs were not met by traditional educational institutions.

 

Now on view at the Oregon Historical Society through April 27, 2025, Colegio César Chávez: The Legacy Lives On / El legado sigue vivo is a bilingual exhibition that highlights the institution’s significance and legacy by exploring the national and local context for its establishment, its educational philosophy and structure, as well as the challenges it faced and how it overcame them.

 

“This exhibition honors and shares a significant part of the history of education reform activism led by Oregon’s Chicano/a community and its allies,” says exhibition curator Natalia Fernández. “All who supported and participated in the Colegio César Chávez created an incredible foundation of social justice advocacy for us to learn from and an inspiring legacy for us to continue.”

 

For a more in-depth history, all are welcome to attend a free screening of OPB’s new Oregon Experience documentary The Living Legacy of Colegio César Chávez at the Oregon Historical Society on January 22 at 6:30pm. The event will include a panel discussion led by documentary producer Alicia Avila, Colegio César Chávez co-founders Sonny Montes and José Romero, and PODER: Oregon’s Latino Leadership Network President Anthony Veliz. Colegio César Chávez: The Legacy Lives On / El legado sigue vivo exhibition curator, Natalia Fernández, will give an introduction. They will share their thoughts on the history and legacy of Colegio César Chávez and their ideas for the future of a Colegio 2.0. Prior to the film screening, attendees can enjoy live music from the Forest Grove High School Mariachi band and view the exhibition. Doors open at 6pm and no advance reservation is required.

 

Colegio César Chávez: The Legacy Lives On / El legado sigue vivo was curated by Natalia Fernández, Associate Professor and Curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives within the Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center. Digital copies of the exhibition panels are available via Oregon State University’s digital asset management system Oregon Digital.

 


 

About the Oregon Historical Society

For 125 years, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of objects, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platforms, educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all. We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and complex as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view.