All Events
Cup of Culture
Hailing Cesar
MCC Theater
The grandson of civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, Eduardo Chavez, embarks on a journey to better understand his grandfather's legacy. Like his father and grandfather before him, he begins to work as a farm-worker, picking grapes in the field, and learns first hand the kind of labor that goes into putting fruits and vegetables on people’s plates. Through his reconnection with his family's legacy, we learn about Cesar Chavez's plight to create equality for farm-workers and use that knowledge to understand the current conditions that they face in the fields and back at home. Post-film discussion with director, Eduardo Chavez.
Exhibit
Vexed: The East L.A. Chicano Punk Scene Sal Guerena, UCSB Library Special Research Collections
MCC Lounge
Not long after the punk scene exploded in New York City in the mid-1970s, young Chicanas and Chicanos in the greater Eastside of Los Angeles began adopting the DIY (do it yourself) punk aesthetic. They expressed their anger, discontent, and feelings of marginalization through a frenzied musical style and biting social commentary. Early Chicano punk bands, or punkeros, embraced the punk rock energy and political edge to draw attention to historic and contemporary injustices. The photographs are drawn from the Chicano Punk Rock Collection in the Special Research Collection’s California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives.
Spoken Word
An Evening of Poetry with Kavi Ade
MCC Theater
Kavi Ade’s poetry is a lamentation, a leaning in to what haunts the spirit of a Black
Trans Queer body. With poems that are deeply personal, while inescapably political,
Ade’s work grapples with being set at the throne of violence. Using art as resistance,
they create transformative dialogue that aims to combat supremacist powers and
heal communities that have been relegated to the margins of society. Through poetry,
Kavi will speak on race, gender, sexuality, and social justice, chronicling despair, grasping at hope, and exploring the ways a body can learn to survive. This event is co-sponsored by the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity and the Department of Women, Gender and Sexual Equality’s Women’s Center.
Cup of Culture
America to Me (Episodes 1 and 2)
MCC Theater
This unscripted documentary series presents an exclusive look into an academic year at suburban Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High Schools. Students, teachers, and administrators from one of the country's highest performing and diverse public schools are profiled in the face of decades-old racial and educational inequities. The series delves into the experiences of the racially diverse student population, sparking conversations about what has and has not succeeded in the quest to achieve racial equity and overcome bias in education.
