LULAC Christmas party, early 1960’s

 xmas1 xmas2

xmas3

xmas4 xmas5 xmas6

xmas7

Women’s History Wednesday:

As part of its project to document the history of Iowa Latinas and their families, the Iowa Women’s Archives preserves and makes accessible the records of the LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Council 10 of Davenport, Iowa.

Mexicans arrived in Iowa as early as the 1880s, and by the 1920s boxcar communities had grown up near railroad yards in towns such as Fort Madison, Davenport, and Bettendorf. During the mid-20th century, second- and third-generation Mexican Americans fought for civil rights through organizations such as Davenport’s LULAC Council 10, founded in 1959 and still going strong today.

Pictured here is a LULAC Christmas party from the early 1960s, showing a blend of traditional activities such as pinata games alongside an early example of what has become an internet phenomenon — the “Scared of Santa” photo.

Iowa Digital Library: Mujeres Latinas Digital Collection

Iowa Women’s Archives: Guide to the LULAC Council 10 records

Iowa Women’s Archives: Mujeres Latinas Project

*This post is duplicated from the Iowa Women’s Archives Tumblr.

LULAC News, JFK Memorial Edition

 kennedy1

kennedy2

This JFK Memorial Edition of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National Newsletter is preserved in the records of LULAC Council 10 in the Iowa Women’s Archives. It commemorates President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy’s attendance at the LULAC banquet in Houston on November 21, 1963. Jacqueline Kennedy addressed the audience in Spanish on this first visit of any U.S. president to a national Latino organization.

LULAC Council 10 was one of several councils to pay tribute to the late president in this newsletter. Members of LULAC from across the country expressed their condolences in this letter:

Sorry, Mrs. Kennedy

TO: Mrs. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy FROM: Members of Lulac

December, 1963

Dear Mrs. Kennedy:

Add to the millions of words of sorrow that have been written to you in every language on earth our humble expression of sympathy at the loss of your husband.

We will never forget John F. Kennedy, who conquered the hearts of the world and did more during his lifetime to preserve peace than any man in history.

We offer this edition of the Lulac News, official publication of the League of United Latin American Citizens, in memory of your husband, the first U.S. President ever to become an honorary member of our organization.

He was our president, our friend, and we loved him. As we shared happiness with you in Houston, Texas on November 21, 1963, so now we share your grief.

Guide to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 10 (Davenport, Iowa) Records

*This post is duplicated from the Iowa Women’s Archives Tumblr.