Winter 2023 | Issue VII

Join us next week for our winter EDI virtual event: Disability Awareness and Inclusion Event!

Led by Melissa Williams Owusu, Director of Disability Counseling and Consulting, and Joanna Boval, Director of the Office for Students with Disabilities, this event will focus on disability management and UCSD programs and how we can all help to create a more inclusive environment.

Date: February 21, 2023

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Location: Zoom

Register: https://ucsd.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsce6gpzovHdQ_BVPe4ob6T2_-Nub1wTaL

Do you know about Garrett Morgan?

By Devon Tolliver

Garrett Morgan was an African American inventor best known for creating the first automatic three-way traffic signal system, which he eventually sold to General Electric. With only an elementary education, Morgan went on to become an accomplished businessman and inventor whose creations would make the world safer. In addition to the traffic light, in 1914, Morgan created and patented a device called the “safety hood," that helped its wearers breathe safer when around smoke, gasses and other pollutants. This invention was the precursor to the gas masks used by soldiers in World War I. In 1916, he used his device in a rescue mission where he and his brother saved two lives after a tunnel exploded in Cleveland, OH. Unfortunately, the heroic rescue ultimately impacted his product sales when people discovered Morgan was African American. However, Morgan continued to invent and helped to improve lives and safety worldwide and his impact can still be seen today.

To learn more about Garrett Morgan, visit: https://www.biography.com/inventor/garrett-morgan

César Chávez and Dolores Huerta

By Madeleine Paley

César Chávez Day is a US federal commemorative holiday celebrated on March 31 every year, Chávez’s birthday. The holiday celebrates the birth and legacy of civil rights and labor movement activist César Chávez. The César Chávez holiday was established by Los Angeles volunteers who organized and led the effort in California to create the day of service and learning in 2000. The holiday was proclaimed as a federal holiday by President Barack Obama in 2014. 

César Chávez was born in 1927 and began to work in the fields of California at the age of 10. He was the co-founder and president of the United Farm Workers of America. Under his leadership, farm workers moved the agribusiness mountain and won the first union contracts for agricultural workers in the grape fields. He championed the cause of equality for Latinos and his organizing efforts remain deeply embedded in the Latino community. In recognition of Chávez’s importance as a leader of the Latino community and a champion of social justice, President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to his widow, Helen Chavez, in 1994.

With César Chávez, Dolores Huerta was also co-founder of United Farm Workers. Huerta was born in 1930 to a farm worker and union activist in New Mexico. After working as a teacher, Huerta began serving in the leadership of the Stockton Community Service Organization and founded the Agricultural Workers Association. Through her work in these service organizations, she met César Chávez and the two launched the United Farm Workers. Huerta was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2012. Huerta not only serves as a champion for Latinos, but an advocate for feminism and women’s liberation.

For more information about the annual UCSD César Chávez celebration, please visit the celebration’s Blink page. 

Celebrating Chicano Legacy at UC San Diego - 40 Años

Photos and story by Kent Osborn

Have you seen these eyes? They are the eyes of Madre Maiz, the corn mother, part of a wonderful mosaic mural on the UC San Diego campus, named “Chicano Legacy – 40 Años”. Chicano Legacy includes cultural and historical images and people who have been important figures in the Latinx history in California. César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, founders of the United Farm Workers, are prominently represented.



The piece is located on the east wall of Peterson Hall on the Thurgood Marshall campus. Created by Peruvian artist Mario Torero, Chicano Legacy was originally installed as a temporary painted mural in 2009. Based in San Diego, Torero has been an important artist and supporter of San Diego’s Chicano Park, and additionally contributed multiple portraits to the murals on UC San Diego’s Che Café.

Chicano Legacy was created from the desire and drive among UC San Diego faculty and staff, including literature professor Jorge Mariscal and the student group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) to provide an educational art work for current students as well as future generations. The mural presents the Chicano/a movement and the historic struggle of individuals who have fought for human rights. It went from an originally commissioned 2 by 8 foot painting to the original 17 by 54 foot painted mural, and with support from the campus, including UC San Diego Vice Chancellor - Resource Management and Planning, Gary Matthews, the permanent mosaic was created, and installed in May, 2011. Torero created the conceptual mosaic and after a long search, he found an art group in China - the Panyu Muralists Art Collective - who created the tiles for the mosaic. Be sure to take the time for a campus walk and cruise by Chicano Legacy.

This article includes excerpts from early articles by Christine Clark (UC San Diego) and James Chute (San Diego Union Tribune) (see links below).

UC San Diego Unveils Groundbreaking Chicano Legacy 40 Años Mosaic:

https://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb74124759/_1.pdf

Mural at UCSD breaks boundaries, builds bridges:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-mario-toreros-new-mural-at-ucsd-breaks-boundaries-2011may24-story.html

Local Artist Retouches Murals at Che Cafe:

https://ucsdguardian.org/2015/04/19/local-artist-retouches-murals-at-che-cafe/ 



Che Cafe is far more than an indie rock venue:

https://sdnews.com/che-cafe-is-far-more-than-an-indie-rock-venue/

Opinion: Fixing the Symptom, Not the Cause 

By: Phillip Howard 

As I take the MTS trolley to Downtown San Diego to one of my favorite places to visit – the San Diego Central Library – I stare outside the window as the trolley zips through the city business district. This trip, I noticed something remarkably different: several street blocks stretching from 32nd and Commercial are completely concentrated with tent encampments adjacent to each other. To me, this image was reminiscent of what you see when you enter the Fashion District in Los Angeles. The blocks are so cramped that any pedestrian would not be able to walk on it. This image is also a representation of the ever-growing crisis in the Downtown area, and a microcosm of homelessness in our county.  

Per Danielle Dawson of Fox News San Diego, the number of unsheltered individuals in downtown San Diego hit a record high in January, marking the sixth straight month with the population growth in the area. Downtown San Diego Partnership said that there are 1,939 unsheltered individuals living in the area. Hafsa Kaka, Director of Homelessness Strategies and Solutions, is aware of this growing issue and knows this is a high priority. She acquired $2.4 million of state funds for the initiative to house 50 homeless people in District 3 over the next two years. She had also acquired $1 million six months ago to address the homeless crisis that she invested in the organization PATH (People Assisting the Homeless, who our Mayor Todd Gloria serves as CEO). 

But is throwing money at assisting a small portion of people facing the condition of homelessness into getting permanent housing really tackling the core issue of what is causing this rise in homelessness? In my opinion, it is only treating the symptom and not the root cause. 

That’s why District 8 City Councilmember Vivian Moreno questioned Kaka on how the money had been used. Our city is not going to see progress by transitioning the homeless population district-by-district from state fund applications. Our leaders must do their diligence to critically analyze who mostly makes up the homeless population, and why that is. Kaka said the majority of people in the encampments are Black women, and many of them are seniors. 

Homelessness and racial equity are inextricably linked. These systemic forces contribute to poverty. It makes it harder for some people to provide for their families. These structures drive disparities in access to affordable housing. This is why achieving racial equity is of utmost importance. Also, finding ways to create more affordable housing units needs to be a priority. It isn’t enough to just provide vouchers for people to get housing. We want to ensure that these people are able to sustain a habitable living condition and not revert back to a condition of homelessness. This requires looking into the serious problem of the cost of housing, and why even working families are in limbo with housing security.

Cookbook Recipe: Valentine’s Day Heart Shape Flan 

Submitted by Mayra Estrada

Facebook Creator Handle: sizzling_withsabdi; https://www.instagram.com/sizzling_withsabdi/

Ingredients:

Heart Baking Pan  

Baking Pan 

La Lechera Dulce de Leche

4 eggs

14 oz. of sweetened condensed milk

13 oz. evaporated milk

8 oz. of heavy whipping cream

4 oz. of cream cheese

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375

Step 2: Boil water

Step 3: In a blender blend 4 eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy whipping cream, and cream cheese together on low. 

Step 4: Strain mixture into a Pyrex measuring cup

Step 5: Pour Dulce de Leche in the heart baking pan. Then pour the mixture into the heart baking pan.

Step 6: Pour boiling water in a baking pan. 

Step 8: Place the heart baking pan inside the baking pan (watch her IG reel).

Step 7: Put the pan into the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven once they are golden brown. Let them cool down on the counter for at least an hour before you place them in the fridge. After 4 hours in the fridge you can take them out. Enjoy!

Resources

UC San Diego Anti-Racism Resources - https://diversity.ucsd.edu/anti-racism-resources/index.html   

UC San DIego Staff Diversity Dashboard - https://diversity.ucsd.edu/accountability/staff.html 

White Allyship, Action & Accountability - https://diversity.ucsd.edu/initiatives/white-accountability-group/index.html 



The Chancellor's 21-Day Anti-Racism Challenge - https://diversity.ucsd.edu/initiatives/21-day-anti-racism-challenge/index.html

UC Learning E-courses:

Equitable access to professional development and training is a priority for the RA EDI Committee. To access these courses, log into UC Learning Center and select the “Find a Course” icon and search for one of the following: 

• UC Policy on Gender Recognition and Lived Name
• Gender Recognition: a Focus on Transgender, Nonbinary, and Intersex Awareness

If you have a question or would like to share a story, event or cultural

celebration, please contact us at vcr-edi@ucsd.edu or submit anonymously via the feedback form on our website.