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Miguel Medina describes his childhood years in Puerto Rico, his immigration to the United States as a teenager, and challenging years in Cleveland and Chicago when he struggled to bring up seven children as a single parent. Eventually he moved to Longmont and opened Casa Medina, which became not only a successful music business, but also community hub. Mr. Medina talks about the ways in which he has aided members of the Latino community, from taking new arrivals under his wing to translating and assisting many Spanish-speaking members of Colorado's minor and major league baseball teams. He also has been an active participant in community endeavors such as creating Longmont's Multicultural Plan and supporting Democratic Party politicians.

A series of presentations on Latino experience and culture organized by Frasier Meadows staff and residents.

This folder contains newspaper clippings about minorities, racism, discrimination, and human rights efforts in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

This folder contains newspaper clippings about minorities, racism, discrimination, and human rights efforts in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

Philip Hernandez is a Boulder native whose family immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the early 1960s. He discusses implications of immigration for his own family and for Mexcian Americans in the United States in general, noting that some families have been here so long that there is a saying that "we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us". The interview explores issues of inclusiveness, diversity, and discrimination, including such subjects as Latinos who fought in the Vietnam War, segregation, lynching, elitism, and working for social change. He talks about his own involvement with social change action, including representing interests of the Latino community on non-profit boards, serving as the State of Colorado affirmative action director, and working to document Latino history.

This folder contains newspaper clippings about minorities, racism, discrimination, and human rights efforts in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

Kelly was born to Guatemalan parents who immigrated first to California and then to Colorado. She was born in the United States. She attended elementary and middle schools in Longmont and Niwot High School for her freshman year. She was unhappy there because of the racist attitudes on the part of some of the white students who made her feel ashamed of being a Latina. For the next two years whe went to Skyline High School in Longmont, where she felt accepted. She discusses the Pre-Collegiate Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder), to help prepare students of color for college; LYFE (Longmont Youth for Equality), organized by CIRC (Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition), which works for political change and to help people in the community. She discusses her goals for making positive changes in the community and in the political system.

Arthur Perez, an executive chef who grew up in Louisville, Colorado, talks about the challenges he confronted while growing up as one of very few Latino families in the community. His maternal grandparents were both chefs. His father was a migrant worker from Texas; his mother, whose family moved from Erie to the Goss-Grove neighborhood in Boulder in the 1950s, worked at Valley Lab. His parents moved to Louisville in 1975. He discusses the importance of food in his family's activities, his strong sense of pride in being Latino, the importance of family and religion in his culture, and contributions of Hispanics to Boulder County. He gives examples of racism that he has encountered, talks about how not having learned Spanish at home has affected him, and reflects on the pull of gangs for some Latino youth.

Dolores Silva is a long-time resident of Lafayette, Colorado. She was born at home in Denver in 1929 with the assistance of a midwife. Her mother was from Taos, New Mexico; she was part American Indian, and when orphaned as a child was raised by the Taos Indians. She came to Denver and met Dolores' father, a professional baseball player. When they divorced, their other children were sent to an orphanage, but Dolores was a baby and stayed with her mother and stepfather. Her father and her husband worked as coal miners in the winters and did construction in the summers. She discusses safety issues in the mines. Joe Jaramillo, who was killed in the Monarch Mine explosion, was a relative. Dolores went to school in Denver and did well but did not graduate because she had to go to work. She and her husband, Manuel, have been married and lived in Lafayette for 68 years. Manuel mentions working for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) around the time of the Depression. Dolores worked for Walmart and then NeoData. She describes good relations between Mexicans and Italians in Lafayette, her son's service in Vietnam, and the importance of the VFW post as a social center.

Sonia Marquez is the director for Northern Colorado of CIRC (Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition) and has set up youth groups in Longmont (LYFE) and Lafayette). Her maternal grandparents came to Longmont around 1932 from northern New Mexico in a covered wagon; her grandfather, John Borrego, worked in the fields and then in meat packing. Her father came from Chihuahua, Mexico, when he was 19 and worked on farms and in construction. She describes discrimination experienced by relatives in Longmont during the 1930s and later, including signs in businesses that stated that dogs and Mexicans were not welcome. Sonia talks about her difficulties going through school in Longmont as a Latina, her college education, and being fired from the Longmont Youth Center, which was protested by many of the center's clients. She speaks of the work that CIRC does, especially around immigration reform, her passion for empowering young people, and the importance of perserving people's stories and culture.

Richard Lopez, an attorney with Lopez Law Office in the City of Boulder, specializes in civil litigation, and land use development. Lopez describes his experience of growing up in California and working in the fields picking grapes and peaches. He talks about being a member of the International Guard and the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He describes his education including attending Cal-Poly at San Luis Obispo as an undergraduate and Cornell University for Architecture and Planning. He later moved to Boulder and became a city planner. He describes his involvement with growth management policymaking in Boulder and his many contributions to community service in the education and non-profit sectors. He also touches on discrimination against Latinos, both in California and in Colorado, and the importance of diversity.

Virginia Maestas was born in Colorado and grew up in Longmont, Boulder and the San Luis Valley. Both of her parents were born in New Mexico and worked as migrant farm workers. Later her father worked in the Great Western Sugar plant and Green Mountain Cemetery. Her mother did domestic work. Virginia describes her childhood, including the challenges of the living conditions, schooling without accommodation for her lack of knowledge of English (which led to her dropping out in Junior HIgh School), prejudicial treatment of Latinos, and the small size of the Latino community in Boulder County when she was growing up. She also tells about her return to school to obtain a GED at age 26, a college degree at age 46, and her subsequent career as a teacher. She discusses changes in the Boulder County Latino community and changes in attitudes toward Latinos over time.