April 2, 2019 Historic Landmarks Commission City Council Chambers 200 East Santa Clara Street San José, CA 95113 Email: HLC5@sanjoseca.gov ; HLC3@sanjoseca.gov ; HLC6@sanjoseca.gov ; HLC1@sanjoseca.gov ; HLC2@sanjoseca.gov ; HLC4@sanjoseca.gov ; HLC7@sanjoseca.gov , Re: Chicano Murals Historical Resources Inventory List Request Members of the Historic Landmarks Commission, The Emergency Comité for the Preservation of Chicano Arts (El Comité) is writing to formally request the the addition of at least 14 surviving Chicano murals identified in this letter be included in the Historical Resources Inventory list. El Comité formed in late 2018 in response to the unlawful removal of one of San José’s most historic and iconic Chicano murals, Jose Meza Velasquez’s Mural de La Raza, located near historic King and Story Roads. The Comi té is a coalition of nonprofit community organizations that includes Silicon Valley DeBug, Jóvenes Activos (SOMOS Mayfair), San José Brown Berets, Casa Chikimalas, local artists, historians, and members of the community. The Chicano Movement was a national political and social justice movement that covered a broad range of issues centered around Chicano empowerment and identity. The origins of San José’s Chicano Movement began in 1952 when Fred Ross recruited César E. Chávez from the Sal Si Puedes barrio of Eastside San José to organize Chicanos to vote through the Community Service Organization. In 1959, Anselmo “Chemo” Candelaria organized the Black Berets, an IndioChicano nationalist, nonviolent militant youth organization that emerged prior to the more recognized Black Panthers and Brown Berets, predating the concept of Black Power and Brown Pride. San José’s Chicano Movement did not become visible until 1962 when César E. Chávez gained national attention for founding the United Farm Workers Labor Union. The rise of the Chicano Mural Movement coincided with this time, where Chicano artists across California drew from their heritage and long tradition of murals and public art to spread political messages and celebrate the diversity and culture of the Chicano community in a monumental way. San José was no exception. The period from 1974 to 1995 was a historic and culturally explosive 1 of 17
Request to add Chicano Murals to Historical Resources Inventory List of the City of San José
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