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Located in Mount Angel, Ore., (cheat sheet: 18 miles northeast of Salem), the Colegio César Chávez only operated for 10 years. But from 1973 to 1983, the Colegio was the first “independent, four-year accredited Chicano/a college in the U.S.,” according to a new exhibition at the Oregon Historical Society. (Chicano/a was the preferred and reclaimed term for Mexican Americans at the time, and is used throughout the exhibition.)
If none of this is ringing a bell, that’s because Colegio César Chávez is in danger of being a forgotten chapter of Oregon history: Its former campus contains no markers, paintings or acknowledgements anywhere on or near the property indicating that the Colegio ever existed.
The modest new exhibition tells the story of the college, from the political movements that inspired its founding to the financial and bureaucratic struggles that led to its shuttering.
“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,” said exhibition curator Natalia Fernández in a press release. “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.”
The bilingual exhibition consists mostly of text-heavy explanatory panels from Oregon State University, along with a 17-minute Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Experience documentary called The Living Legacy of Colegio César Chávez. Artifacts in a case in the center of the room include original political cartoons, the college’s course catalog, and a gorgeous calendar of significant dates in Chicano history by artist Carlos Manríquez, chair of the Colegio’s art department.
The college formed in the years after César Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later became United Farm Workers. (Visitors would be wise to go downstairs at OHS to take a look at the exhibition Migrant Labor Families in the 1960s for more context on what Chávez and Huerta were fighting for. That show is up through March 30.)
The founders of Colegio César Chávez had no experience running a college but went for it anyway with a “Si, Se Puede” mindset. It was a short-lived but inspiring effort.
SEE IT: Colegio César Chávez: The Legacy Lives On at the Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Ave., 503-222-1741, ohs.org. 10 am-5 pm Monday-Saturday, noon-5 pm Sunday, through April 27. Free admission for Multnomah County residents.