Chicano photo exhibit boosts student belonging on campus 

Chicano pride was on full display at the opening event for the Centro de La Raza Legacy photo collection, which featured the work of photographer John A. Taboada on Thursday, Feb. 26 in LAC’s M building. 

The exhibit is on loan for a year from the Historical Society of Long Beach, a non-profit organization that preserves local stories and photography, with which LBCC has a partnership. 

Over 3,000 of Taboada’s photographs of friends, families and local activists from the years of 1970 to 1985 were kept, archived and provided to LBCC by Taboada’s family on his behalf.  

The collection mostly depicts residents of Long Beach’s east side neighborhood, around the time when former president Lyndon B. Johnson had anti-poverty programs and the area served the local Hispanic communities.  

^{Photos of the exhibit’s “La Lucha” section, showing various protests and young students who participated were just some of the photos on display at the Centro de La Raza Legacy exhibit on Feb. 27. (Ryan Guerrero)}

El Centro De La Raza, a community center in Long Beach, was known for helping LB’s  Hispanic communities but also had its doors open to help anyone who needed it.

“We did have Black, white, Asian, Latino and Chicano kids in all of our programs. So it was a great opportunity for us to serve as young leaders,” said Ron Arias, a contributor to the collection.

The photo exhibit was considered by LBCC after a report in 2020 found that there was a low student morale at LBCC. 

“Only 49% of students felt like they belonged and mattered,” said Superintendent President Mike Munoz at the ceremony commemorating the photo exhibit.

This prompted an initiative to highlight student experiences and the founding of LBCC’s DEIA Public Art Advisory Group on campus, which has built a board to highlight Long Beach history through these exhibits. 

The first art experience that this group has facilitated, which showcases the diversity on LBCC’s campuses, is the mural “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” that stands on the side of the LAC’s M building. This mural was painted in 2024 by Chicano artist Paul Botello. 

“So many of the people who were a part of the collection are still alive, so their kids and grandkids will come in and see it too. It was such a great experience for the entire community,” said Mary Dixon, the outreach coordinator for the Historical Society of Long Beach. 

This event brought together the community to experience Chicano culture and encapsulated pride and hope for student morale to persist in the future.