Critical Conversations:
An Oral History of the Cross-Cultural Center at California State University San Marcos
Learn
Interested in learning more about multiculturalism, social identities, and activism on our campus and in our region? In addition to this exhibition, the University Library Special Collections holds the following resources that may be of interest, whether for your studies or your personal journey.
-
Cross-Cultural Center records
California State University San Marcos's Cross-Cultural Center records are a twenty-year archive of the CCC's operations, programs, and impact. The Cross-Cultural Center records are a rich resource for scholars interested in multicultural education; student success; diversity, equity, inclusion, and access; and social justice.
Special Collections also hold some materials related to Multicultural Programs, the Civility Campaign, and other Student Life Centers. Please contact Special Collections for more information.
Pictured at left is a flier for the program "C3 Discussions: Women in Pop Culture," artwork by Sandra Chevrier. -
CSUSM Student Newspapers
CSUSM's student newspapers often covered events, people, and issues related to intersectionality, diversity, and activism. Twenty-five years of newspapers (1990-2015) have been digitized and are available online. These newspapers can be browsed by issue, searched, and browsed by tag. -
Dan Rios papers
The Dan Rios papers are a visual representation of San Diego County from 1969 - 2001. Rios was the Chief Photographer of the Escondido Times-Advocate newspaper, and as such took many images of our regional communities. Events, people, and places important to North San Diego county's various ethnic and racial communities may have been photographed. This collection is currently being processed and is quite large - 43,000 envelopes and an estimated 1,000,000 images. Please contact Special Collections with any research queries and we'll look at our records to see if we may be of assistance.
Pictured at left is former boxing World Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore, who lived in Ramona, California. -
Oral Histories
The University Library has conducted and published oral histories of members of our campus and regional community, with new histories being added each semester. Many oral histories have to do with activism, identity, social justice, and similar subjects.
Pictured at left is Lilian Serrano, who is the Director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, located in Escondido, California. In her interview, Serrano discusses family life and growing up in Tijuana and Oxnard, her experiences as a student activist at CSUSM, and her work as an advocate for immigrant rights in North County. -
Special Collections serials
The University Library's Special Collections serials include newspapers, newsletters, magazines and similar ongoing publications related to our region. Many of our newspaper holdings include papers that were intersectional and nature and carried stories important to North County's Black community, especially leftist newspapers from the civil rights era (the OB Rag, Prensa Popular, San Diego Door, Street Journal & San Diego Free Press); military publications (all ready on the LEFT, Attitude Check, Military Appreciation Resource Magazine) and, LGBTQ+ publications (Bravo!, Pacific Coast Times, San Diego Lesbian Press, San Diego Scene, Thursday's Child). Other serials, especially newspapers like the Escondido Times-Advocate, covered events, people, and places of regional and national importance.
Publications specifically by and for San Diego's Black community include: Black Unity, a Vietnam War-era publication for Camp Pendleton's Black Marines; Dare to Struggle, an insert in the Street Journal & San Diego Free Press, written for San Diego's Black community with a focus on civil rights and Black liberation; and Voice & Viewpoint, a publication for San Diego's Black community focused on regional and national news.
Pictured at left is the cover of the first issue of Black Unity, a Vietnam War-era newspaper published for Camp Pendleton's Black Marines. -
Together/Apart: The COVID-19 Community Memory Archive
Together/Apart: The COVID-19 Community Memory Archive documents our community's lived experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, through submissions to the library by individuals that work, live, and/or study in North San Diego County and Southwesthern Riverside County. The collection includes testimonial about the pandemic's impacts of specific communities. A companion digital exhibition, Stories & Snapshots: Documenting a Year of the Pandemic contains samples -- mostly visual documents -- submitted to the collection.
At left is a detail of an art installation by Grey Claire Brandt titled "Nationwide Shortage." -
"Uncle" Henry Rodriguez collection
Henry Rodriguez was a Luiseño elder and activist who played a significant role in the fight and settlement of water rights from the San Luis Rey River. The "Uncle" Henry Rodriguez collection also documents Rodriguez's initiatives to preserve Luiseño and broader Indigenous culture, and Rodriguez's life, accomplishments, relationship with CSUSM, and celebration of life.
Pictured at left is Rodriguez, in a detail from an undated photograph taken by Escondido Times-Advocate chief news photographer Dan Rios. -
University Archives
CSUSM's University Archives hold documents related to the university's cultural heritage and history, and include some documentation on previous Black History Month activities at the university, Black staff and faculty actions about racial issues and campus climate, and university communications to regional stakeholders in the Black community. For more details on what the University Archives hold related to the campus Black experience, please contact Special Collections.