91勛圖

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Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez
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My archival research at 91勛圖 has focused on the legal and civil rights advocacy of key Mexican American leaders and institutions, including civil rights scholar Ernesto Galarza; voting rights attorney and co-author of the California Voting Rights Act Joaquin Avila; and the organizational records of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA). These legal organizations have played a critical role to advance the civil and voting rights of Latino communities, utilizing litigation as a strategic tool to secure equal protection under the law and promote equitable political representation through legislation. The collections offer extensive documentation of decades-long legal struggles and grassroots advocacy, illuminating both national and transnational dimensions of Latino American civil rights movements.

My research has also included conducting oral history interviews with prominent legal and civil rights leaders, such as General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz, current MALDEF President; Jos矇 Padilla, former CRLA Executive Director; Ambassador Vilma Martinez, former General Counsel of MALDEF; and the only oral history ever conducted with the late Joaquin Avila, voting rights attorney and former General Counsel of MALDEF. These interviews, which are archived and publicly available through the Stanford Department of Special Collections and the Stanford Historical Society, offer invaluable firsthand accounts of the legal strategies, institutional histories, and personal commitments that have shaped Latino civil rights advocacy over the past several decades.

During the past 15 years of conducting research at Stanford, I have been consistently inspired by the dedication of lawyers and advocacy organizations working to improve the lives of marginalized communities. One formative moment occurred when I first encountered archival photographs from the 1950s of former braceros, legally contracted guestworkers. The Bracero Program was a binational labor agreement between the United States and Mexico that brought over two million braceros to the United States from 1942 to 1964. These images offered powerful visual narratives of migration, labor, and hopestories reminiscent of iconic photographs of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. However, these photographs pointed to a different but equally significant point of entry: The U.S.Mexico border. This research solidified my commitment to public scholarship and the importance of making archival materials accessible to broader audiences.

Through my research in the Stanford Department of Special Collections and ongoing collaboration with the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91勛圖), as well as through teaching and public engagement, I have developed initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between academic research and public history. I founded the to share these important histories with wider audiences and have continued this work by designing ethnic studies curricula for school districts and organizing educational events that highlight the contributions and experiences of Latino communities in the United States.

This commitment to public history culminated most recently on June 10, 2025, when I co-organized, alongside Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, a public commemoration marking the 50th anniversary of the banning of the short-handled hoea tool that had long symbolized exploitation in agricultural labor. Used for over a century by farmworkers of multiple ethnic backgrounds, the short-handled hoe required workers to remain stooped over for long periods at a time, leading to chronic injuries and long-term disability. Labor leader C矇sar Ch獺vez himself suffered from debilitating back pain as a result of such work. The tool was officially banned on April 7, 1975, following the tireless advocacy of local farmworkers Sebastian Carmona and Hector De La Rosa, who, with legal representation from CRLA attorneys Marty Glick and Mo Jourdane, successfully brought the case before the California Supreme Court. The Mercury News opinion piece, [May 30, 2025], Farmworker victory ending use of El Cortito 50 years ago, noted that the victory provided an empowering lesson.

The anniversary event brought together over 200 people and distinguished guests including Glick, Jourdane, and other CRLA alumni, as well as iconic figures such as labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta and playwright Luis Valdez, who spoke about the long civil and labor rights movements. I also invited the legendary music group Los Tigres del Norte, who hold a special cultural resonance in the Latino community. Their music shaped my immigrant upbringing, reflecting the complexities of navigating bicultural identity, bilingualism, and persistent anti-immigrant sentiment. Their songssuch as La Jaula de Oro, Somos M獺s Americanos, Campesino, and their tribute to C矇sar Ch獺vezarticulate the lived experiences of immigrant communities and assert a counternarrative of dignity, resilience, and resistance in the face of marginalization.

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Jorge Hern獺ndez, co-founder of Los Tigres del Norte, has often spoken about the groups first U.S. performance at Soledad Prison in 1968the same year Johnny Cash played at Folsom State Prison. Since then, they have received multiple Grammy Awards, sold out Madison Square Garden, and, this past summer, were honored with a namesake street in Brooklyn. During the Monterey County event, Supervisor Alejo and the Board of Supervisors presented Los Tigres del Norte with a lifetime achievement award recognizing not only their musical legacy but also their decades-long advocacy on behalf of immigrant and Latino communities. Photo above: Dr. Ornelas (third from the left) pictured with Los Tigres del Norte band members (left to right) Luis Hern獺ndez, Hernan Hern獺ndez, Jorge Hern獺ndez, Eduardo Hern獺ndez, and scar Lara | photo credit: Pep Jimenez.

As part of our continued collaboration, I have invited Los Tigres del Norte to visit the Department of Special Collections at Stanford to study Ernesto Galarzas personal papers and bracero correspondence. In particular, we will examine Galarzas documentation of the 1963 Tragedy at Chualar, in which 32 braceros were killed in a devastating collision between a makeshift bus and a train. Galarza served as the principal investigator of the accident, and the archival record he left offers profound insights into the structural neglect and human cost of exploitative labor systems. Our hope is to draw from these materials to inspire a new song that honors the 32 bracero lives lost and continue to educate the public about this overlooked chapter in U.S. history.

This kind of scholarly interdisciplinary and community-based collaboration underscores the vital role of archives and public scholarship in shaping collective memory and advancing civil rights education. As I continue my work with 91勛圖 and within the Stanford Department of Special Collections, I remain committed to collaborating with scholars across disciplines and transnationally to deepen public understanding of Latino American history and to ensure that these stories are not only preserved but heard.

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Historian Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez Speaks at the Unveiling of the Bracero Legacy Mural in Chualar, California

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Local High School Students Connect with CISAC Security Expertsthe Honorable Rose Gottemoeller, Professor Norman Naimark, Dr. Harold Trinkunas, and Visiting Research Scholar Xunchao Zhangand former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta

Students from San Jose and Salinas Valleytaught by Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguezmet on May 22, 2025 for the fourth annual International Security Symposium.
Local High School Students Connect with CISAC Security Expertsthe Honorable Rose Gottemoeller, Professor Norman Naimark, Dr. Harold Trinkunas, and Visiting Research Scholar Xunchao Zhangand former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
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91勛圖 Curriculum Consultant Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez shares his research into the legal and civil rights advocacy of key Mexican American leaders and institutions.

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Gary Mukai
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The unveiling of the Bracero Legacy Mural took place on April 18, 2025 in Chualar, in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County. The mural honors all Bracero workers and remembers the 32 Bracero workers who tragically lost their lives and the 22 Bracero workers who survived in a train collision in Chualar, on September 17, 1963. Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, a historian whose research has focused on the Bracero Program, shared the following:

The Bracero Program was a series of laws that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers (braceros, lit. individuals who work with their arms) from Mexico. As the United States entered World War II, its agriculture and railroad industries witnessed a shortage of laborers due to the U.S. military draft and the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States. The United States and Mexico entered into legal agreements that would ultimately be known as the Bracero Program, which operated from 1942 to 1964. Braceros worked throughout the United States, but the largest concentration of Braceros was employed in California. There were an estimated 4.5 million contracts signed by Braceros over the 22-year period. Today a large proportion of the Mexican American population can trace its heritage to former Braceros.

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colorful mural


The Bracero Legacy Mural (above) was painted and designed by contemporary artist Hanif Panni and sponsored by the Arts Council of Monterey County; photo courtesy Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. The mural depicts a man standing in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley and an image of the bus that was hit by a train on September 17, 1963. Research for the mural was based on Ornelas Rodriguezs study of the  at Stanford. Ornelas Rodriguez, whose grandfather was a Bracero, has spent the last 15 years studying and analyzing Galarzas personal papers, which Galarza donated to the Department of Special Collections, 91勛圖 Libraries. Included in the collection are numerous files about the accident and subsequent investigations that Galarza conducted for Congress. They also include his correspondence with various families of victims and survivors. Most recently Ornelas Rodriguez has been working to locate more of the families connected to the accident.

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five people standing in front of a colorful mural


Ornelas Rodriguez has spoken for many years about the possibilities of a mural dedicated to Braceros with Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, an American politician who served in the California State Assembly representing the 30th Assembly District, encompassing the Pajaro and Salinas valleys. Alejo initiated conversations with the Monterey County Arts Council, which eventually approved support for the Bracero Legacy Mural. Alejo appears in the center of the photo above. Left to right: Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez; Artist Hanif Panni; Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo; Consul General of Mexico, San Jose, Alejandra Bologna; and Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez; photo courtesy Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez.

I was touched by the heartfelt comments that all of these people shared during the unveiling ceremony and felt a very strong emotional connection to the Braceros who were present for the ceremony because I spent my childhoodas a farm laborer and son of migrant farmworkers and sharecroppersworking with Braceros from the 1950s. I also felt ties to being in the Salinas Valley because that is where my family lived and worked prior to the outbreak of World War II. As mentioned by Ornelas Rodriguez, the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United Statesmost of whom were farm workerswas one of the chief reasons for the establishment of the Bracero Program. I recommend that teachers introduce the Bracero Programand Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the U.S. agricultural workforce broadlyto students and suggest that they consider using a lecture by Ornelas Rodriguez titled Visualizing the Essential: Mexicans in the U.S. Agricultural Workforce.

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Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez with his grandfather, a former bracero, and family, taken during a ceremony at 91勛圖
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Alexandra Arguello (far left, front row) and fellow students with Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez.
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The Bracero Program was a series of laws that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers from Mexico.

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My grandparents, who were immigrants from Hiroshima, Japan, were migrant farm workers and sharecroppers in California from the early 20th century, and they lived in many towns in California. The only other state that they lived in was Arizona when they were incarcerated by the U.S. government from 1942 to the end of World War II in 1945 in what were once called relocation centers and now usually referred to in U.S. history textbooks as internment camps for people of Japanese descent primarily from the West Coast. My parents, who were born in California and thus U.S. citizens, were also incarcerated. Because Japanese immigrants and their descendants played such a vital role in agriculture in states like California, the incarceration of approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descentalong with the military draftcaused a severe labor shortage in agriculture. These were two of the key reasons for the establishment of the Bracero Program in 1942. 91勛圖 Consultant Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguezwho teaches at Willow Glen High School, San Jose Unified School District, as well as at 91勛圖, noted:

The Bracero Program was a series of laws that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers (braceros, lit. individuals who work with their arms) from Mexico. As the United States entered World War II, its agriculture and railroad industries witnessed a shortage of laborers due to the U.S. military draft and the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States. The United States and Mexico entered into legal agreements that would ultimately be known as the Bracero Program, which operated from 1942 to 1964. Braceros worked throughout the United States, but the largest concentration of braceros was employed in California. There were an estimated 4.5 million contracts signed by braceros over the 22-year period. Today a large proportion of the Mexican American population can trace its heritage to former braceros.

 

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As a child of farm laborers in the 1950s and 1960s, I worked side-by-side with braceros. My neighbors in San Jose were braceros. Braceros were either paid by the hour or compensated by the amount of crops that they harvested, known as piecework. The braceros punch cards usually had at least double the punches that mine had. As a child, I felt more Mexican than Japanese American. Thus, it was particularly meaningful for me to facilitate an event called Legacies of the Bracero Program, 19421964, during which nine former braceros were recognized by 91勛圖, FSI, and the  (CLAS). The event took place at 91勛圖 on February 27, 2014; photo above courtesy Rod Searcey. The event was conceptualized by Ornelas and organized by Ornelas and 91勛圖 Event Coordinator Sabrina Ishimatsu. Featured speakers were former FSI Director Professor Mariano-Florentino Cu矇llar, former CLAS Director Professor Rodolfo Dirzo (the son of a bracero), and Ornelas. The year, 2014, marked the 50th anniversary since the end of the Bracero Program.

Ornelas has spent the last 14 years conducting research and memorializing braceros. In addition to the event described above, he has conducted numerous public history events with colleagues and was instrumental in the naming a 17-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 as the Bracero Memorial Highway and Monterey Countys recognition of braceros. The naming of the Bracero Memorial Highwayand more recently the installation of a crossare memorials to a tragic accident in Chualar, Monterey County, that killed 32 braceros on September 17, 1963. On June 2, 2020, Ornelas spoke about the history of the Bracero Program and shared reflections on Visualizing the Essential: Mexicans in the U.S. Agricultural Workforce in a webinar attended by educators nationwide. Since December 31, 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Bracero Program, I highly recommend the use of the recorded webinar in high school classrooms and colleges in the United States and Mexico. The webinar recording, along with a classroom-friendly discussion guide, can be accessed here. The webinar was co-sponsored with CLAS and facilitated by 91勛圖 Instructional Designer Jonas Edman. Also, a talk by Ornelas in Monterey County last year inspired the development of a mural that was commissioned by Monterey County and will be featured in Chualar.

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My mother, who worked with braceros since shortly after her release from the incarceration camp in Arizona in 1945 until 1964, died this year. While clearing out her home, I decided to keep the comala flat griddlethat the braceros who lived next to me used to make tortillas. The braceros gave the comal to my mother before their return to Mexico, and my mother had saved it because she recalledas I do, as wellthe many times that the braceros made tortillas for me. More importantly, she had the highest respect for their work ethic. I used to walk regularly to the bracero home to enjoy tortillas; photo above circa 1957. As a 10-year-old in 1964, I remember the sadness that I felt when I said adios to my bracero co-workers and neighbors.

I think its important to recognize the critical contributions of the braceros not only to the U.S. economyespecially during World War IIbut also to their continued contributions to the richness of U.S. history and society broadly through their descendants like Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez.

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Alexandra Arguello (far left, front row) and fellow students with Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez.
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Local High School Students Meet with Scholars from Stanfords Center for International Security and Cooperation

Willow Glen High School students from San Joseenrolled in a course taught by Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguezparticipated in the second annual International Security Symposium.
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December 31, 2024 marks the 60-year anniversary since Congress ended the Bracero Program.

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On September 12, 2023, Monterey County Supervisor Luis A. Alejo and Supervisor Chris Lopez formally recognized Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguezs efforts to educate the public about the Bracero Program. During the ceremony in Monterey County, former bracero workers were also formally recognized for their contributions to the agricultural industry and economy of the United States from the early years of the U.S. involvement in World War II. 

Ornelas Rodriguez noted,

The Bracero Program was a series of laws that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers (braceros, lit. individuals who work with their arms) from Mexico. As the United States entered World War II, its agriculture and railroad industries witnessed a shortage of laborers due to the U.S. military draft and the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States. The United States and Mexico entered into legal agreements that would ultimately be known as the Bracero Program, which operated from 1942 to 1964. Braceros worked throughout the United States, but the largest concentration of braceros was employed in California. There were an estimated 4.5 million contracts signed by braceros over the 22-year period. Today a large proportion of the Mexican American population can trace its heritage to former braceros.

 

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Brisa and Ignacio


KSBW 8 reporter Brisa Col籀n (photo above, courtesy Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez) reported that History was made Tuesday, in Monterey County. It was the first time bracero workers were recognized with a dedicated week to honor their contributions. Never before have the workers been recognized at this level by the county for their contributions to the agricultural industry and economy in the United States. 

As part of the ceremony, there was also an acknowledgement of the 1963 bus crash that occurred on Highway 101 in Chualar, an areas of Salinas Valley, California. The bus collided with a train and claimed the lives of 32 braceros and injured many other braceros and farm laborers. It is still the single deadliest crash in California history and one of the worst in the nation. In 2013, Ornelas Rodriguez was instrumental in the naming of a portion of Highway 101 as the Bracero Memorial Highway in honor of the braceros who lost their lives. 

Ornelas Rodriguez also focused his PhD dissertation on the Bracero Program and currently works as a lecturer at the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford (CCSRE) and trains and collaborates with educators to implement the ethnic studies curriculum in the San Jose Unified School District. He continues to conduct research and share the history and legacy of the Bracero Program through his teaching and public outreach through the Bracero Legacy Project he founded at Stanford. 

I feel a strong emotional connection to the Bracero Program, as I grew up and worked with braceros from the 1950s to 1964. I wish that there were a way for me to reunite with the braceros with whom I worked. 

former bracero, Josafat Arias


Fortunately, during the ceremony, 91勛圖 had the honorthrough Ornelas Rodriguezof offering each bracero in attendance a certificate from 91勛圖 as a very modest acknowledgement of their hard work. Former bracero Josafat Arias, depicted above (photo courtesy Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez), noted, I accept this certificate on behalf of the over one million braceros whose lives continue to impact the Salinas area, California, and beyond. 

After the ceremony, Ornelas Rodriguez, whose grandfather was a bracero, shared that events like the one in Monterey County are important not only because of the recognition offered to the former braceros but also because they empower young descendants of former braceros to do well academically. School-age descendants are given the chance to reflect on the bracero journey, consider how far descendants of former braceros have come, and appreciate the endless possibilities that lie ahead of them. 


For more information about the Bracero Legacy Project, visit .

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Supervisor Luis A. Alejo and Supervisor Chris Lopez recognize Ornelas Rodriguezs work on the Bracero Program.

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On Veterans Day last week, I was reflective of my relatives and friends who are veterans of U.S. wars. My parents were migrant farmworkers and sharecroppers before and after World War II and several of my relatives are veterans of World War II. I also grew up as a farmworker, and most of my co-workers were migrant laborers from Mexico contracted through the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program was a 22-year initiative started in 1942 that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers from Mexico. The laborers, called braceros, or individuals who work with their arms, were mostly concentrated in California. I attended school with many children of braceros.

Several of my classmates and family friendsincluding some children of my bracero co-workersserved in the Vietnam War, referred to by Vietnamese as the American War. A family friend, John Nishimura, died of wounds on April 4, 1968 sustained from hostile gunfire that left him as a quadriplegic on December 10, 1967 in the central highlands province of Kontum, Vietnam. Like other Asian Americans who served in Vietnam, he faced race-related challenges during his service. This topic is covered in the PBS series, , for which 91勛圖s Waka Brown developed a .

During my freshman year at U.C. Berkeley, 197273, I witnessed anti-Vietnam War protests and took a course in Chicano Studies (now Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies). Because of my childhood, I felt more Mexican than Japanese in many ways. In the Chicano Studies course, I recall a lecture on Chicano veterans of U.S. wars. The informal learning (observing the protests) and formal learning in Chicano Studies marked the first time in my life that I had been introduced to perspectives on the Vietnam War that were not included in my high school U.S. history textbook.

After graduating in 1976, I entered a teaching credential program at U.C. Berkeleys Graduate School of Education that was called the Black-Asian-Chicano Urban Program or BAC-UP. One of the students was Charley Trujillo, a recent graduate of U.C Berkeley who majored in Chicano Studies. I felt a closeness to him because of my upbringing, and also recall how much I appreciated what we would now call global perspectives that he shared. We completed BAC-UP in 1977 and I went to teach in Japan and lost touch with him.

In 2014, while planning for a 91勛圖 event that honored braceros with Dr. Ignacio Ornelas, the grandson of a bracero, Ornelas asked to introduce me to his friend, Charley Trujillo, and I immediately recalled Charley Trujillo from BAC-UP and wondered if he was the same person. I looked up his name online and was pleasantly surprised that he was the same person whom I had last seen 37 years prior. During our reunion, I learned from Trujillo that he had become a novelist, editor, publisher, and filmmaker. He is very well known for his book and documentary, . While in BAC-UP, I didnt know that he was a disabled Vietnam War veteran and that his father was a veteran of World War II. After hearing about his experiences in Vietnam, the global perspectives that he shared during BAC-UP became even more poignant. I also recalled how he sometimes challenged our professorssomething that I could not doon topics related to the master narrative of U.S. history.

Prior to my reunion with Trujillo, my former colleagues, and , developed a 91勛圖 curriculum unit, , which I encourage high school teachers to use as a supplement to the information about the Vietnam War in their U.S. history textbooks. The five lessons in the curriculum unit are described below. Someday, I would like to add Trujillos documentary as the foundation for a sixth lesson.

  • Lesson One examines the political and economic aftermath of the Vietnam War. Students learn about the political situation following the war, Vietnamese emigrants known as the boat people, and post-war economic development.
  • Lesson Two examines the impact of warfare on human health and the natural environment. Students learn about tools of warfare, including Agent Orange and landmines, and their harmful consequences on the ecosystem as well as on generations of civilians and veterans.
  • Lesson Three combines a number of neglected and hidden themes in the Vietnamese war literature, including the experience of Vietnamese Amerasians and the involvement of non-U.S. soldiers who fought in Vietnam.
  • Lesson Four gives voice to different categories of Vietnamese who have migrated abroad in the decades following the war: Vietnamese Americans, the Montagnards, and Vietnamese brides in Korea.
  • Lesson Five investigates the idea of history as competing narratives. Students examine three representations of the Vietnam Warthe war as depicted in American history textbooks, the war as exhibited at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, and the war as represented in an effort to build a monument to the U.S.South Vietnam alliance by the Vietnamese American community in Wichita, Kansas.


Trujillo and I are in periodic touch and he continues to expand my perspectives on the Vietnam War and its legacies by sharing his riveting and heartbreaking yet inspiring story. Most recently, we met at the . He is in the midst of producing a film based on his book, Dogs From Illusion, a Vietnam War novel on the Chicano war experience. Ornelas, a social studies (including ethnic studies) teacher at Willow Glen High School in San Jose, is currently enrolled in the Principal Leadership Institute at U.C. Berkeleys Graduate School of Education. Its very gratifying to know that Ornelas, Trujillo, and I share similar cultural histories that are not usually included in U.S. history textbooks at the high school level, and also share similar academic experiences that were only made possible by those who came before us. I am eternally grateful to Trujillo, Nishimura, and other veterans who sacrificed so much to make our lives better. I feel that it is essential for us as teachers to include their unique perspectives in the teaching of U.S. history.

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On Veterans Day 2021, 91勛圖 Director Gary Mukai reflects on some lesser-known stories of Vietnam War veterans.

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Grandparents have an endearing position of high stature in Mexican culture. Grandchildren have countless stories about the 釵硃娶勳簽棗 (endearment) they receive from Abuelito (Grandpa) and Abuelita (Grandma). My immigrant grandparents sacrificed a lot when they migrated to the United States. Their courageous journeys and perseverance to attain the American dream left an invaluable mark on me. My 硃莉喝梗梭勳喧棗s journey to the United States initially on the Bracero Program led me to conduct research on the program. The Bracero Program was a binational labor agreement between the United States and Mexico that was in effect from 1942 to 1964. It was established due to the labor shortage brought about by World War II. Thousands of Mexican men were recruited and joined the program to work primarily in agriculture in states like California.

It was my 硃莉喝梗梭勳喧棗s 釵硃娶勳簽棗, work ethic, and courage as an immigrant that I have never forgotten. My abuelito worked in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, where his skilled farm labor contributed to making the highlands of Jalisco productive for the cultivation of agave. Thousands of the regions menincluding my abuelitojoined the Bracero Program and left Mexico for the United States. Once in the United States, they worked in the agricultural industry and transformed it into the multibillion-dollar business that it is today.

In my research, I have had the chance to interview members of the family of Rafael Silva, who was also a bracero from Jalisco. One of his grandsons, Isa Silva, will be entering Stanford next fall as a recruit for the Stanford Mens Basketball team. I recently had the chance to talk with Isa and reflect upon the legacy of his abuelito and mine. The work that they performed was brutal, often working with the short-handled hoe for long periods. Reflecting on his 硃莉喝梗梭勳喧棗s contribution to making the Salinas Valley into the Salad Bowl of the World, Isa noted, My grandparents immigrant journey and hard work means everything to me. Its one thing that motivates me and inspires me. I respect the generations before me and am forever grateful for their sacrifices. Because of my grandparents and parents, I work hard in the classroom and it has taught me to give back.

After the Bracero Program formally ended in 1964, agricultural executives sponsored thousands of braceros like Rafael Silva to stay in California. Not only had the braceros lives been transformed from rural poverty in Mexico to making working-class earnings, but their hard work would also eventually transform the lives of their children and grandchildren like Isa. Considered the Ellis Island for many Mexican immigrants, the U.S.Mexico border became an important migration corridor for thousands wanting to find work in the agricultural fields in places like the Salinas Valley. For many young braceros, their earnings provided them with the hope of one day marrying and starting a family. For Rafael Silva, that hope became a reality when he married Eva Silva Ruelas and they settled near the U.S.Mexico border in San Luis, Sonora, Mexico. While Rafael worked in the agricultural fields in Arizona, Eva and her young children resided in San Luis. Eventually they were able to move together to the Salinas Valley where Rafael continued working in the agricultural fields and Eva worked at the Matsui Nursery, a company founded by Andy Matsui, an immigrant from Japan.

My research has uncovered numerous stories of braceros like Rafael Silva overcoming poverty. Among children and grandchildren of braceros are professors at U.C. Berkeley and Stanford, members of the U.S. Congress and California legislature, as well as successful entrepreneurs, attorneys, educators, physicians, and a former NASA astronaut. Despite these successes, braceros themselves have received little recognition. With this in mind, I decided to organize an event with 91勛圖 to honor braceros, with hopes that it would also make an indelible impression on a Mexican American generation whose bracero fathers or grandfathers had made major contributions to the U.S. economy. They, too, were part of Americas Greatest Generation.

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photo of braceros in Stanford sweatshirts


On February 26, 2014, ten former braceros and their families were invited to an event at Encina Hall at Stanford. The invitees included Rafael Silva and Eva Silva Ruelas. Former FSI Director , who is currently a California Supreme Court Justice, spoke along with Stanford Biology Professor and me. 91勛圖 Director Gary Mukai moderated the event and spoke about his youth as a farm laborer working with braceros. The evening was historic in that it was one of only a few times that former agricultural workers were recognized at a university. In the photo, I am standing next to my abuelito, Jos矇 Guadalupe Rodriguez Fonseca, top left. Isas abuelito, Rafael Silva, is in the front center.

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extended Silva family


What else stood out that evening was the Silva grandchildrens palpable love for their grandparents. One photo of the evening captures the Silva family legacy. Rafael (wearing a Stanford sweatshirt) and Eva Silva are in the middle with six of their children and numerous grandchildren surrounding them. Isa is standing in front of his grandfather. Three of their grandchildren are currently attending Stanford, with Isa soon to become the fourth. Reminiscing about the event, Isa noted, I was a ten-year-old boy. It was cool to see the whole family get together and be there. We were there to support my abuelito and recognize all his hard work. It was great to see him honored for what he did so long ago. As we grow older, we appreciate him more and more. Isa knows that his abuelito and 硃莉喝梗梭勳喧硃s journey is what transformed the Silva family and made his own American dream possible. Reflecting that pride in his familys story, Isa closed our conversation by saying, On and off the court, I will always represent being Mexican American.

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Isa Silva, grandson of a bracero from Jalisco, will enter Stanford next fall as a recruit for the Stanford Mens Basketball team.

616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E005
Stanford, CA 94305-6060

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ignacio_ornelas_rodriguez.jpg PhD

Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, Ph.D., is a historian who conducts research on civil rights, social justice movements, and electoral politics. He is a lecturer at the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford (CCSRE). In addition to his work at Stanford, Ornelas Rodriguez works with the San Jose Unified School District developing the ethnic studies curriculum and teaching courses in the social sciences. Dr. Ornelas Rodriguez has led seminars for high school students on international security with 91勛圖. 

He previously worked in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford conducting research and led projects procuring archival research collections surrounding literature, ethnic history, civil rights history, and social justice history. His projects included the Bob Fitch Photography Archive; the David Bacon Photography Archive at Stanford: Work & Social Justice; the Dr. Marion Moses Papers; the Richard Rodriguez Papers; the Frank Bardacke Papers; and many other collections available for research at Stanford. 

At Stanford he founded the Bracero Legacy Project, a public history and educational outreach venture that incorporates archival material from the Ernesto Galarza Collection and oral history interviews Ornelas Rodriguez conducted with former braceros. On September 14, 2013, Ornelas Rodriguez was recognized by the California Assembly for his work as an organizer of the Bracero Memorial Highway Project.

From 2018 to 2020 he was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focused on California history, and in particular, Chicano history and Chicano/Latino studies and Latino politics. Much of his work has focused on archival research that documents Mexican and Mexican American history. The history of Mexican labor in the United States necessarily includes the study of civil and voting rights and the generations of Mexicans who advocated for those rights. In 2022 he was recognized by UC Berkeleys Latinx Research Center for his invaluable work in obtaining historic funding that will enable the Latinx Research Center to grow and continue to provide research opportunities to the Latino community at UC Berkeley. 

In 2023 Ornelas Rodriguez was acknowledged by California Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas and State Senator Anna Caballero for his leadership championing the rich heritage and history of California and expanding awareness through public history programs that recognize agricultural workers. 

Dr. Ornelas Rodriguez currently serves on the board of directors of the California Institute for Rural Studies. He received his Masters in Education from the University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Dr. Ornelas Rodriguez can be reached for speaking engagements and to collaborate at iornelas@stanford.edu.


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