Examining Race, Space, and Power in Chicanx/Latinx Cultural Centers

• In Event: After Access: Institutional Support for Marginalized College Students

Abstract

After the establishment of the oldest documented race-based culture center, Paul Robeson Culture Center, in 1967, RCCs have been established across the country with varied degrees of acceptance and celebration. However, RCCs remain at the margin of research agendas representing an opportunity to document these spaces in relation to their tensions and possibilities as sites for equity and justice. Through interviews with directors of the six Chicanx/Latinx cultural centers in the University of California System complemented by archival research, this paper will contribute knowledge regarding RCCs and their role on college campuses and student outcomes, while advancing an in-depth analysis of these spaces in relation to their tensions and possibilities as sites for equity and justice.

Author

• Vanessa Segundo, University of California - Davis