CSRC Spotlights Latina/o LGBT Initiative

The Latina/o LGBT Initiative at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was first developed by esteemed CSRC librarian Yolanda Retter Vargas in 2007 and supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation from 2008-2012. On December 13, 2012, the CSRC held a reception to launch a new era for the Initiative in which it will be central to CSRC projects.

The CSRC Library now holds seventeen LGBT archival collections, resulting in Gronk, the first volume in the CSRC’s award-winning A Ver: Revisioning Art History book series, plus one award-winning reference book with a second forthcoming.  Materials from these collections have been exhibited at museums across the U.S. and throughout Latin America, and the CSRC Library has hosted LGBT-related exhibitions based on the collections of Gronk, David Damian Figueroa, and Alex Donis. To date, the CSRC has held workshops and presentations in four states to facilitate the preservation of Latino LGBT collections nationally.

The CSRC's Latina/o LGBT Initiative also involves students, offering hands-on experience working with archival collections so that these materials can be made available to students, scholars, and the general public. The CSRC is committed to making the Latino LGBT Initiative integral to our core projects on education, economic security, public health, and the arts and culture. Our efforts were recognized this year when the Society of American Archivists presented its first ever “Diversity Award” to the CSRC Library.

If you are interested in making a gift to support this ongoing effort, please visit the Giving page on this site or send a check to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.

To send a check, please mail to:

Please make checks payable to The UCLA Foundation and indicate in the memo line that your gift is to support the CSRC Latina/o LGBT Initiative.