Downtown Oxnard in the 1980s. Courtesy of the author’s postcard collection.
My summer research project is composed of conducting archival research and oral histories, which I would develop a research paper and notes on the history of Mexicans in Oxnard and Ventura County. I will conduct archival research at the Oxnard Public Library, Local History Collection (Oxnard, Ca) and Ventura County Museum of History & Art, Historical Research Library (Ventura, Ca).
The final outcome will be a research paper titled, Growing Up In La Colonia: Culture, Migration, And Community it will recount the story of Mexicans migration and settlement in the La Colonia in Oxnard, California through the narrative of my family history. The first section develops a brief social history of the Mexican community in the development of the city of Oxnard; one for whites and another for non-whites. The second section focuses on my family migration to the city of Oxnard and where they settled in the La Colonia. The final section focuses on my family interaction and interception of culture, community, and migration within the context of living in La Colonia.
The overall purpose of this research paper is to give a voice to the Mexican community, which has been brutalized, marginalized, and segregated in United States history, especially the history of Oxnard. Furthermore, the research paper would lead to a dissertation project titled, From Segregation To Civil Injunction: A History Of Mexican Resistance In Oxnard, California.
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