Guide to the Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Papers
1943-1988

Biographical Note

Tomás Ybarra-Frausto taught in the Dept. of Romance Languages and Literature of the University of Washington from 1970 until 1976. He was an instructor of Chicano culture and history. During this time Ybarra-Frausto was actively involved in proposals for a Chicano studies program at the university. Outside of the university he also dedicated himself to establishing and supporting programs which helped Chicanos to build a healthy identity, to gain access to good education and job training, and ultimately to obtain positions as graduate students and faculty at the university level.

Ybarra-Frausto left the University of Washington as part of a group of Mexican-American faculty and administrators who resigned in protest of the university’s lack of commitment to the development of a Chicano studies program and to the hiring of Chicano faculty needed to support such a program.

Scope and Content

The Ybarra-Frausto papers document various ethnic studies and Chicano studies proposals at the University of Washington, and include information about similar programs at other universities. A compilation of newspaper clippings and other items documents confrontations between Chicanos and the university for six months prior to the resignations of UW Mexican-American faculty and administrators in May of 1975.

Ybarra-Frausto also collected papers that document the activities of Chicano artists, students, and organizations in Washington State. These materials reflect the mood of the Chicano (Mexican-American) movement of the 1970s. Topics include Northwest Chicano history, Chicano artists, theater and dance groups, literature, student movements, farm workers associations, educational associations, and self-help organizations in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

Among the collected papers, a large series can be identified as the papers of Raúl Arellano, a professor of anthropology at Shoreline Community College in Seattle. Professor Arellano’s papers include files concerning the Chicano Education Association (CHE), an organization which encouraged increased educational opportunities for and employment of Chicano educators and paraprofessionals; the McNeil Island Mexican-American Self Help group (M.A.S.H.), which emphasized education and improved employment opportunities for incarcerated Mexican-Americans; and the Washington State Commission on Mexican-American Affairs, an advisory committee to the governor.

Other organizations documented in the papers include: Active Mexicanos Economic Development Center (AMEDC), formed in 1970 to establish a service center for social, economic, and educational programs serving the Chicano population of King County, Washington; El Centro de la Raza, established (1972) in an abandoned Beacon Hill school to provide basic social and health services to Chicanos; La Escuelita Chicano, founded in Granger, Washington (with its population of 50% Chicano residents) to provide an environment that would foster a positive self-image and encourage intellectual and spiritual development through language, games and folkdance; and Teatro del Piojo, a theatrical group founded in 1970 and directed at its outset by Ybarra-Frausto. Teatro del Piojo toured the West Coast region with humorous and satirical “actos” portraying the Chicano experience.

At least some of the artist files included in the papers were collected in preparation for an exhibition at the Evergreen State College and the University of Washington entitled Chicano and Latino Artists in the Pacific Northwest.

Arrangement

Arranged in 5 series:

• Personal and professional papers, 1957-1988
• Active Mexicanos records, 1971-1979, 1987
• Raúl Arellano papers, 1969-1980, 1987
• El Centro de la Raza records, circa 1972-1974
• La Escuelita records, 1943, 1969-1971

Restrictions on Use

The creator's literary rights have been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Tape recorded interviews are available for listening but may not be copied without the permission of the interviewee. Papers may not be copied without the permission of the author.

Restrictions on Access

The papers are open to all users.

Access to archival recordings: Due to the fragility of archival tape recordings, potential users may be required to arrange for transfer to digital format before the material can be accessed. Please contact Special Collections for further information.

Separated Material

Many publications by and about Chicanos in the Northwest that were originally included in the Tomás Ybarra-Frausto papers were relocated to the Northwest Collection, which is also located in the Special Collections division, University of Washington Libraries. A list of the relocated materials is appended to the inventory of the collection.

Physical/Technical Access

Sound cassettes, sound tape reel, and videocassette require special equipment for listening and viewing.

Preferred Citation

[Title of item], [date of item if known], [box/folder number], Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Papers, Accession No. 4339-001, University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info

Source: Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, September 3, 1993.

Processing Info

Photographs were relocated to the Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Collection, PH Coll. 437, Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, in 1994.

Other Finding Aids

The photographs that form part of this collection are described and indexed in A Guide to the Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Photograph Collection, which is available in the Special Collections division, University of Washington Libraries.

Inventory