Our Stories
Your Voice Counts By Norma (Mena) Cazares Retired Faculty/Counselor, Southwestern College
It was our hope to improve the curriculum and diversity of teachers and counselors at the school. Many of the experienced teachers didn’t want to work at Lincoln, so the school would hire younger, inexperienced teachers who didn’t have a choice as to where they taught. Our concerns also included the poor quality of used textbooks we had that were rejected by other schools and the practice of placing non-English speakers into Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) classes. I helped those who spoke Spanish to better understand what was happening on campus and how our demands would benefit all of us. Then, we walked out and boycotted classes. It resulted in the closing of the school for 10 days. Among the most notable results of our actions was the appointment of Dr. Ernest Hartog, who became the first Black high school principal in San Diego. I continued my activism after high school at San Diego State University (SDSU), which is where I met my husband, Roger Cazares. He was also involved in community activism.
I became aware of the need for community activism at age 15, when George Stevens, who would become the future San Diego City Councilmember, recruited me to translate so he could register Spanish-speaking citizens to get to the polls and vote. I witnessed the benefits of Latino voter turnout and how it could effect change in my community. In 1969, I was a senior at Lincoln High School, located in the southeastern part of San Diego. The country was undergoing turbulent and exciting social movement times: the Vietnam War; Civil Rights – Black and Chicano Movements; Women’s and Gay Rights Movements.
Norma Cazares (Photo courtesy of Norma Cazaras Archives)
As students, we recognized various inequities at Abraham Lincoln High School. I helped organize Spanish-speaking students in support of a peaceful walkout. A core group of students created 22 demands, challenging educational and social inequities and practices.
The Union – April 15, 1969 (Courtesy of The San Diego Union Tribune)
Below: Lincoln High School – 1966 (Courtesy of Norma Cazaras Archives)
We raised three children and along the way, I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from SDSU and a Master of Science in Counseling, which eventually led me to Southwestern College. I used my activism there to increase the number of transfer students to higher education. My husband and I are both retired from our work but never from community activism.
Norma Cazares with former student, Guadalupe Olguin. (Photo courtesy of Southwestern College)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 4 – The Rise & Legacy of the Chicano Movement
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