Cal State LA Library

We're so proud and honored to receive this incredible grant from Getty Foundation! Funding will help process the archive of the Compton Communicative Arts Academy (CCAA) Collection as part of the Black Visual Arts Archives initiative. The CCAA archive is housed in the University Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

Cal State LA receives Getty grant to process Compton Communicative Arts Academy archive Cal State LA receives Getty grant to process Compton Communicative Arts Academy archive

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Gloria Arellanes, a pioneering political activist and leader during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s in Los Angeles. As a key member of the Brown Berets, Arellanes fought for the rights and empowerment of Mexican-American communities, particularly in the areas of healthcare, education, and social justice.

In the late 1960s, Arellanes became Minister of Finance and Correspondence of the Brown Beret organization’s founding East Los Angeles Chapter, the only woman to hold a major leadership position. She wrote press releases and letters and edited “La Causa,” the East Los Angeles-based Brown Beret Newspaper. She helped establish and eventually would be the director of El Barrio Free Clinic, a free health care facility on Whittier Blvd. open in the evenings for local residents.

Arellanes was a member of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, helping to organize the 20,000+ attendee march through East LA in August of 1970, one of the largest Mexican-American anti-war demonstrations in the country. After leaving the Brown Beret organization in early 1970, Arellanes organized the Chicana activist group Las Adelitas de Aztlan.

Her legacy is one of resilience, compassion, and activism, and her contributions have left an indelible mark on our city and our history. Her unwavering dedication to creating positive change continues to inspire generations. We are grateful at the Cal State LA University Library to house a collection of her photographs and correspondence that she donated, which can be viewed here: https://digitalcollections.calstatela.edu/luna/servlet/CalStateLA~8~8

We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched.