Guide to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund records M0673 (original) (raw)

Description

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund records contain the administrative records, litigation files, and special program files of one of the most influential and effective civil rights organizations focusing on defining and protecting the civil rights of Mexican Americans throughout the United States.

Background

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund was incorporated in 1967 by Pete Tijerina, following a meeting convened by Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, between Tijerina, San Antonians Albert Peña and Roy Padilla, and Bill Pincus, a Ford Foundation representative. When Pincus said that the Foundation would be willing to consider a proposal for funding a Mexican American legal organization, Tijerina filed the papers for incorporation, conducted research for writing the proposal, and made an organizing tour of five southwestern states. Tijerina organized MALDEF committees in California, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, as well as his native Texas. In May 1968, MALDEF received a 2.2 million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation to be used over five years, and in August 1968 MALDEF began work.

Extent

3415.0 Linear feet (1189 cartons, 2691 boxes, 35 flat-boxes, 12 half-boxes, 55 oversized flat-boxes, 11 card-boxes, 9 photo-boxes, 2 cassette-boxes, 36 large map-folders, 10 small map-folders)

Restrictions

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94305-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.

Availability

A small amount of material that contains privacy and confidentiality issues has been closed for 75 years from the date the material was created. Within this guide, this material will be marked with a Restricted Material note at the file level, specifying the extent of the closure period.