The Papers of Leticia Quezada: A Life Dedicated to Honor Mexican and American Cultural Values

Series I: Personal (1960-1981)

The first series consists of Leticia Quezada's personal school work when she attended the University of California, Santa Cruz for her undergraduate degree in psychology. From 1975 to 1976, she studied at California State University, Sacramento and earned her M.S. in behavioral science. The three boxes include assignments, ephemera, school notes, papers, printed matter, and textbooks. Series II: Professional (1968-1995)

The second series consists of professional papers related to Quezada's employment in the City of Los Angeles Personnel Department and Community Development Department in the Training and Job Development (TDJ) division. The contents mostly include information packets, proposals, statements, training manuals, and guides from the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, various federal departments and other organizations. One of the primary subject matter concerns the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (CETA). There are general provisions, guidelines, and procedures related to CETA. Other subject matter includes affirmative action, Latino rights, and women's reproductive health.

Processing note:

There are some items from the 1990s that were originally grouped with the TJD materials from the 1970s to 1980s. For example, there are copies of correspondence addressing the Department of Labor Compliance Review Findings and job training programs. Although Quezada left the TJD in 1981, the cataloger decided to keep these items with this series.

Materials related to Comision Femenil between 1976 and 1978 are found in the next series (Series III).

Series III: Professional (1974-1992)

The third series encompasses a large chapter in Quezada's life. During this time, she was elected to presidency at Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional and Comision Femenil de Los Angeles. In this capacity, she organized efforts on issues of reproductive rights, equal rights, domestic violence, employment opportunities, childcare, immigration and political empowerment for Latinas and their families. She was also elected as Chair of Los Angeles County Californios for Fair Representation. From 1980 to 1981, she was selected to participate in the Coro Foundation Leadership in Public Affairs program in Los Angeles. In 1981, she joined Nestle USA and served as the company's Community Relations Manager to the national Hispanic community.

Sub series I (1974-1991): The first sub series consists of correspondence and invitations arranged in chronological order. The contents include memorandums, political correspondence, promotional letters, and outgoing correspondence from Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional and other chapters. Much of the correspondence from CF are memorandums pertaining to events, meetings, and fundraisers addressed to members, the Board of Directors, and other organizations. The subject matter concerns the CF and Quezada's effort on various social issues, particularly related to Latinos. Invitations, consisting of cards and flyers, are found at the end of the correspondence.

The second part of this sub series consists of materials related to CFLA, CFMN, and other chapters, which include Kern County, Modesto County, and San Gabriel Valley. The contents include applications, By-Laws, conference packets, financial reports, flyers, general information, invitations, literature, meetings, membership lists, notes, reports, and ephemera. After the Los Angeles chapter and national organization, there are a few items related to other chapters in California.

Processing note:

There are items that were related to CFLA or CFMN, but were not clearly identified. These items, chiefly notes and mailing lists, are labeled as CF.

The third part of this sub series consists of subject files. Intermixed with the subject files are specific organizations. For example, the National Council of La Raza and the National Organization for Women (NOW) are found independently from the subject files related to Latino civil rights and women's issues.

Note: There will be overlapping topics. For example, items related to abortion are found in the "Abortion" folder and "Council for Choice" folder. Contents found in the subject and organization files include correspondence, general information, memorandums, newsletters, and publicity material. Events and efforts of these organizations were probably mentioned during CF meetings and newsletters for members' information. Also part of this sub series is political ephemera. There are two boxes consisting of mostly of mass correspondence and campaign ephemera related to Art Snyder, Larry Gonzalez, Tom Bradley, and other politicians running for Los Angeles City Council and the Board of Education. A subject of interest in this section is material related to Gloria Molina's campaign for California Assembly in 1982.

Processing note:

The subject and organization files may have been part of information packets for members; however, they were received unsorted.

Sub series II (1974-1987): The second sub series related to Quezada's professional work in the 1980s is redistricting. In order to enhance Latino power, there were efforts to re-draw district lines in 1981. As a result of the 1981 redistricting, two lawsuits challenged the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors of fragmenting the Latino population. The clippings, correspondence, documents, depositions, ephemera, and reports in this sub series, provide insight into the complexities of redistricting in the 1980s. Organizations represented include: The Californios for Fair Representation (CFR), a coalition of Latino groups pressing for additional representation in the Assembly or State Senate and MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the main organization to challenge the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in one case.

Sub series III (1980-1983): The third sub series consists of a small group of materials related to the Coro Foundation between 1980 and 1984 and miscellaneous ephemera. In 1980, Quezada was selected to be a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs from 1980 to 1981. This folder consists of her selection, application, ephemera, and a report.

Note:The folder related to her fellowship is found in Box 130. Other material concerns Quezada's participation in identifying potential candidates for the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs for the following year. The miscellaneous ephemera includes an unidentified video tape and cassette tape, empty envelopes, and photographs.

Sub series IV (1981-1992): The fourth sub series concerns Quezada's time at Nestle USA where she worked as a Community Relations Manager. She was in charge of public relations and corporate donations for Latino communities across the United States. This section mostly includes correspondence and ephemera related to the Nestle: Los Buenos Good Neighbor program.

Processing note:

Since Quezada worked at Nestle USA between 1981 and 1991, there will be correspondence addressed to her at Carnation in the next series, as well.

Series IV: Professional (1976-1995)

This fourth series relates to Quezada's work as the first Latina elected to the Los Angeles Board of Education and its first Latina president elected in 1992. During this time, issues that she focused on include: bilingual education, empowerment of parents, decentralization of decision making to local schools, and equal funding for all schools across the district. She also built eleven new schools in her district to deal with overcrowding.

Sub series I (1976-1995): This series primarily includes Consolidated Campaign Statement and other forms required by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) of California and financial records. The financial records consist of checks, deposits, invoices, receipts, and statements. A subject of interest in the correspondence relates to the LAUSD budget crisis in 1992. Also in this series: clippings, greeting cards, campaign ephemera, FPPC bulletins and manuals, and voter lists. The folders entitled "Work papers" consist of financial notes and additional forms from the FPPC.

Processing note:

Most of the financial portion in this series had folder titles. If there was a folder title, it will be mentioned in the notes section.

Also part of this sub series is material related to the Los Angeles Community College Board. Quezada was chosen to fill a vacancy on the seven-member board in July 1985 and served until her election to the Board of Education in 1987. The few items from the L.A. Community College Board include correspondence, clippings, FPPC forms, and ephemera.

Sub series II (1987-1995): The second sub series consists of items entitled by Quezada as "Desk Files." The bulk of these items also relate to career at the Los Angeles Board of Education during the early 1990s. A contentious subject of interest in this section was Quezada's proposal to let noncitizens vote in school board elections. Also included is material related to the Los Angeles Education Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN) plan, immigration, and affirmative action.

Processing note:

For the most part, the original folder titles assigned by Quezada were kept.

Subseries III (1988-1995): In 1992, Quezada ran unsuccessfully for Congress. These three boxes mostly consist of campaign ephemera and voluneteer information from Quezada and other candidates.

Series V: Professional (1991-2002)

The fifth series concerns Quezada's career at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, where she served as President and CEO from 1991 to 2002. The administrative offices of MCI, located inside El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, were leased from the City of Los Angeles. The bulk of this series consists of agendas, correspondence, memorandums, minutes, proposals, and reports related to the Mexican Cultural Institute. Much of this material highlights the cultural programs and exhibits offered by MCI for adults and children. The correspondence and memos also provide insight into the institute's adult literacy program and generous donation of Spanish books to local schools. The letters between the institute and the City of Los Angeles document agreements worked out regarding the institute's lease at the Pueblo. Also in this series are folders of mostly ephemera related to California State University and University of California and correspondence concerning the "Alumni Advisory Group on Long Range Planning."

Series VI: Ephemera (1968-2006)

This final series mostly comprises of ephemera: books, campaign materials, periodicals, and photographs. Boxes 95-109 consist of books, mostly in Spanish and relate to Mexican art and artists. Boxes 110 to 112 mostly include political buttons and pins from the 1980s. Box 113 consists of miscellaneous magazines from 1988 to 2002. Boxes 114 and 115 include photographs. Boxes 117 to 124 mostly include videotapes related to cultural events in Los Angeles. There are also videotapes from the public affairs show, Week in Review with Bill Rosendahl, where Quezada was a regular commentator. Boxes 125-129 consist of additional miscellaneous ephemera such as the International Women's Year tote bag, awards, newspaper clippings, campaign ephemera, and other printed matter.

Processing note:

Most of the photographs are unidentified and roughly organized by subject.

The photo albums and scrapbooks are housed separately. The scrapbooks document Quezada's tenure at the Los Angeles School Board. There are two photo albums: "LQ's Recognition Event" and a Los Buenos Vecinos event. Also, there are a small box of loose photographs related to the "Grand opening Nissan Family Learning Center" and a carousal of slides related to "Redistricting – The Key to Politics in the 1980s." Other oversize ephemera includes 3-D objects, artifacts, campaign ephemera, calendars, and newspapers.

Cataloger's notes:

The collection is roughly organized chronologically by Leticia Quezada's career. There will be overlapping dates and subject matter.

The folders entitled "Correspondence" do not indicate ALL of the correspondence for that series or section. Letters and memos are frequently found in other folders.

Four boxes of awards, seven miscellaneous 3-D objects, and box of financial records containing sensitive information were returned to the donor in 2015.

For encoding purposes, accent marks have been omitted.

Conservation notes:

The items in Box 130, may or may not be infected with mold and insect droppings. They have been separated as a precaution. This box mostly consists of items related CFLA and CFMN. Please contact the Curator, Hispanic, Cartographic, and Western Historical Manuscripts to view.

There are some materials with water damage; however, the text is mostly visible.

Most of the staples and paper clips have severely rusted. I attempted to remove most, but not all of these fasteners. Please be careful when viewing items with rusted staples and paper clips.