Writing history is a political decision. Every word or sentence we write on paper is based on our experience, interaction, and knowledge of the environment around us. Our history as Mexicans within the contexts of United States history has taken on many different interpretations. Some of those interpretations have labeled Mexicans as outsiders, bandits, and savages. On the other side, Chicano/Mexican historians and scholars have contoured those interpretations by highlighting the critical part Mexicans have played in the development of the United States.
So, in this context, my research pedagogy within the field of Chicano/Latino Studies and History focuses on developing a counter-narrative of labor, migration, and activism histories. This focus has led me to conduct research on the history of working-class Mexicans in California, especially the oral histories of farm workers, families, union organizers, and community activists who struggled for a better quality of life.
Searching For Memories In La Colonia: Migration, Labor, And Activism In Oxnard, California, 1930-1980
The book manuscript focuses on the intersections between labor and migration in the development of the City of Oxnard and La Colonia neighborhood. Labor and migration on the Oxnard Plain have played an essential part in shaping and constructing the Mexican working-class community and its relationship to the power structure of the city and the agri-business interests of Ventura County. This migration led to many conflicts between Mexicans and Whites. I focus on those conflicts and activism between 1930 and 1980. (Under Review)