Published: September 13, 2024 by Matsuko Friedland

Please join the SJSU iSchool in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month as we honor the achievements of our Hispanic and Latinx community members.

On September 17, 1968, Hispanic heritage became officially recognized during the week of September 15 in order to celebrate the achievements of Hispanic Americans, while also garnering more attention for legislative and grassroots efforts to uplift the Hispanic American community. What originally started out as a week of honoring Hispanic Americans has now grown into a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latinx Americans, signed officially into law on August 17, 1988. (source: United States House of Representatives)

Join us on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time, for our free online symposium, “Latino Librarians: Leading Change and Shaping the Future”, featuring a presentation from Becky Calzada and a panel discussion with Manuel Julio Duran Mendez, Dr. José Luis Benavides, and Becky Calzada.

Register here for this free event: https://sjsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_o-SEjSzqT2y90xclqdEEuQ

Becky Calzada: First Latina President of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

Becky Calzada is the 24/25 President of the American Association of School Librarians. District Library Coordinator in Leander, Texas and is a co-founding member of Texas #FReadom Fighters, a grass-roots led group of librarians launched back in October of 2021 in support of intellectual freedom and to highlight the positive work of school librarians. She is a member of the ALA Policy Corp Proactive Advocacy on Book Banning cadre and is a past  member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. She is the recipient of several intellectual freedom awards and was honored by People Magazine in their 2023 Women Changing the World portfolio. She recently co-authored Prepared Libraries, Empowered Teams: A Workbook for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges Together which released June 2024.

Manuel Julio Duran Mendez: REFORMA AfroLatine Affinity Group; Graduate Assistant, University Archives, Special Collections & University Archives; PhD Student, University of Maryland College Park

He is the Chair for the DC AfroLatino Caucus, is originally from the Dominican Republic and moved to Washington, D.C., at the age of nine. After graduating from Bell Multicultural High School, Mendez received his bachelor’s degree in African Studies and Communication at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Fortunate to have a host of mentors in his adolescence, Mendez’s passion for supporting positive youth development and the issues that plague the people of the African Diaspora are ever-apparent themes in his pursuit of affecting progressive change in his community. As a constant staple in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, Mendez’s dedicated support has allowed him to forge long-term, meaningful relationships with members of the community. Currently, as the chair of the DC AfroLatino Caucus, Mendez’s goal is to unite “black and brown” people of the Washington metropolitan area. He is also a Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland’s School of Information Studies.

José Luis Benavides, Ph.D.: Professor, Department of Journalism; Director, Tom & Ethel Bradley Center California State University, Northridge

He is the Director of the Bradley Center, who champions the collection of Latinx heritage through the collection of oral histories, photos and ephemera for the Bradley Center collection. Presently, Jose Luis, through the Bradley Center, is collecting history of the United Farm Workers, among others. He works closely with the CSUN library to make the collections available to all via the Bradley Center website. 

Alexandra Rivera: REFORMA President

She is the Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Organizational Development at Michigan State University Libraries. She has been in this role since Dec. 2021 and coordinates a division that includes Communications, User Experience, Accessibility, Organizational Development and Outreach and Engagement. She was recently the student success and community engagement librarian at the University of Michigan Library.

She is President of REFORMA (the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking) and is President of the Joint Council of Librarians of Color, Inc. Board of Directors. She holds degrees from Northern Arizona University (B.S.) and the University of Michigan (M.L.S.).

She was awarded the American Library Association Equality Award in 2018 and again in 2021. for work with the Joint Council of Librarians of Color.