Reies López Tijerina was born on a mound of cotton sacks on Sept. 21, 1926, near Falls City, Texas, to a family of migrant workers. In his early life he served briefly as a minister with the Assemblies of God before founding a utopian community in Pinal County, AZ, in the early 1950s. He had risen from general obscurity as a roaming country preacher in the Southwest to international fame as one of the most daring revolutionary figures in United States history.

Tijerina created the Valley of Peace religious center in Southern Arizona in 1956. At about this time Tijerina learned of many families in the state of New Mexico who had been dispossessed of their ancestral lands. Tijerina had a mystic vision which he interpreted as a calling to move to New Mexico to help the Hispanos there reclaim legal jurisdiction over ancient land grants. He took up the cause of land-grant restoration in the 1960s and is best known as one of the earliest pioneers, and among the most influential social activists of the Mexican-American or Chicano Civil Rights Movement (although he best prefers the term Indo-Hispano). He is routinely identified as a warrior in the early social movements, along with César Chávez, the farm labor organizer in California; Colorado Chicano activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales; and La Raza Unida Party co-founder José Angel Gutiérrez in Texas.

Reies López Tijerina founded the Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres (Federal Alliance of Land Grants) in New Mexico to reclaim Spanish and Mexican land grants held by Mexicans and Native Americans before the U.S.-Mexican War (nearly 100 million-acres). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed after the U.S. victory over Mexico, guaranteed Mexican citizens the retention of their land grants. The Alianza hoped to reclaim ownership of land through the courts of New Mexico; however, it was determined in a court ruling that the United States Congress was the arbitrator on issues of land rights based on international treaties.

Tijerina became famous when on June 5, 1967 he led an armed raid on the Rio Arriba County Courthouse in Tierra Amarilla, NM. This event brought the issue of land rights to national attention and became a stimulus for the Chicano movement. The raid climaxed in a 90-minute shoot-out at the court house of Tierra Amarilla when Alianzistas tried to make a citizen’s arrest of certain New Mexican officials. The incident turned New Mexico into a battleground and put Tijerina on the front pages of the world’s newspapers.

In 1968, Tijerina unsuccessfully ran for governor of New Mexico with The People's Constitutional Party. He also collaborated closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Poor People's Campaign. Although Tijerina was found not guilty of the charges related to the courthouse raid, he eventually was convicted of charges stemming from the occupation of the amphitheater. He was jailed repeatedly and between June of 1969 and July of 1971 was held at in a federal penitentiary which led to the eventual dissolution of the Alianza, given the conditions of parole which included he could not speak about or lead any organization that addressed land grant issues.

They Called Me “King Tiger”: My Struggle for the Land and Our Rights is Reies López Tijerina’s autobiography. In it, he archived his actions during the uprooting of the 1960s Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement. He was the only one of the group to keep a record of his work to explain what brought him and his Federal Land Grant Alliance members to break the law. Challenging the New Mexico and national authorities, reclaiming part of a national f...

Panel Discussion - “Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Cultural Citizenship:

Challenges for Transformation”

Colleges and universities designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), with at least 25% of the students identifying as Hispanic, are poised to rigorously address complex and multifaceted social issues as they apply to the growing demographic. Hispanic students and faculty at HSI designated institutions have been and, with increased support, can engage in front line struggles to increase Hispanic student success.

However, while the HSI designation plays a significant role in the historical trajectory of Hispanic education in the U.S., educators and policy-makers are troubled by the dismal success rate of this ethnographic populace in education, ranging from disproportionate high school “push out” rates through low college graduation rates and even into the professoriate, with less than four percent of doctoral degrees being awarded to Hispanics. The practice of privileging

HSI designated colleges and universities with additional competitive-grant funding begs the question: how do these practices serve Hispanics in and out of higher education institutions?

The HSI designation was created to compensate for existing educational disparities and recognize the educational achievement gaps of Hispanics. Educational inequality is a legacy of unfair practices such as unequal educational funding, unfair housing practices, and employment discrimination. The HSI designation is a call to action, it is not exclusively summoning Hispanics, it is a notice to higher education institutions. HSIs should bear a message and a mandate, a directive of inclusivity, of collectivity, of integration, representation, and accountability.

Panelists:

- Erica Romero, Executive Director of Western States Legislative Affairs, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)

- Dr. Hermán García, Regents Professor, College of Education, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

- Dr. Rudolfo Chávez Chávez, Regents Professor, College of Education, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

- Deborah A. Santiago, Vice President of Policy and Research for ¡Excelencia in Education!

Moderator:

- Daniel Loera, Multicultural Affairs Director, University of La Verne, and President, Southern California Consortium of Hispanic Serving Institutions

Red Carpet Hosts:

- Maribel Aragon and Aaron Sanchez

CSUSB - Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD), "Panel Discussion: “Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Cultural Citizenship: Challenges for Transformation”" (2012). Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD) Video Recordings. 45. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/lead/45

For decades, the inadequacies and shortcomings of Latino education have always been there - but a principal difference between then and now is scale. In opposition, innovation and ingenuity can become our community's most valuable resources. LEAD therefore serves as a primary site for innovative and productive projects in Latino Education. Our impact and success are grounded on collaboration, participation, and outreach. Our work, by necessity, involves

significant participation and partnerships in the region and nationally, and strong interactive connections with Latino networks in the U.S., as well as Latin Americans and Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas and the world.

The various LEAD networks reach agreement that there are important issues that directly or indirectly affect institutions and the multiple communities we straddle, that required us to do the action work that is most relevant for the local context, and in such a way that they can be used to inform and shape policy. Put simply, the LEAD movement engages- and believes that the singular accomplishable solution to our educational dilemma lies in community activism and democratic participation. "Netroots" is one way to describe our methods of awareness-raising, education, promotion, advocacy, activism, analysis, discussion, critique, and dissemination of educational issues that impact Latinos.

The word is a combination of "internet and grassroots," reflecting the technological innovations, participatory democracy, and campaign-oriented activities that set our techniques apart from other forms of education and advocacy. Our work propels through local and regional efforts, with supra-local interlinks via national, and global web-based connectiveness -- that organizes communication points that spread out, but are not directed outward to, or from, any one singular point.

This forum showcases LEAD Partners who are at the cutting-edge of technological innovation and application, as factors that can help mobilize and increase educational capacity and advocacy.

Panelists:

- Armando Sanchez, Executive Producer, LatinoGraduate.net Web Broadcasting

- Andres Orozco, Co-Founder, Novelas Educativas™

- Colt Alton, Director of Technology, LearningU

- David Iberkleid, Creator, PaseLaVoz Network, ReK2 Text Messaging, CEO at WhyEquals, LLC

- Nadja Giuffrida, CEO of Dextro, LLC. and LaPlaza.net, and Chairman of Thinkers, Inc

Moderator:

- Robert Garcia, Information Technology Consultant, College of Education, California State University, San Bernardino

Red Carpet Hosts:

- Maribel Aragon and Aaron Sanchez

CSUSB - Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD), "Forum: “The NetRoots Movement: The LEADing edge in Innovating, Applying, and Enhancing Technology to Leverage Latino Education and Advocacy”" (2012). Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD) Video Recordings. 44.

https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/lead/44