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Film, Video Carlos Montes oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Alhambra, California, 2016 June 27

Carlos Montes oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Alhambra, California, 2016 June 27

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About this Item

Title

  • Carlos Montes oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Alhambra, California, 2016 June 27

Summary

  • Carlos Montes, founding member of the Brown Berets, talks about his decades-long involvement and activism in the Brown Berets, the Brown Power movement, MEChA, the East L.A. blowouts, the Chicano moratorium against the Vietnam War, the anti-Iraq war protests, his political persecution at the hands of federal and local authorities. He recounts participating in the inter-racial coalition that occupied the Mall in Washington, DC, for the Poor People's Campaign (1968), and the ways in which that experience opened up the consciousness of the Brown Berets to the global struggle against class oppression and imperialism. He talks about the circumstances of his arrest on arson charges in 1969, and having to flee the country in the face of relentless, racist persecution of himself and other Chicano activists. He recalls community action programs and events that challenged the Brown Power movement.

Names

  • Montes, Carlos, 1947- interviewee
  • Cline, David P., 1969- interviewer
  • Bishop, John Melville, videographer
  • Civil Rights History Project (U.S.)

Created / Published

  • 2016.

Headings

  • -  Montes, Carlos,--1947---Interviews
  • -  Sanchez, David
  • -  Tijerina, Reies
  • -  National Brown Beret Organization
  • -  Chicano movement
  • -  Civil disobedience
  • -  Civil rights demonstrations--California
  • -  Civil rights movements--California
  • -  Civil rights movements--United States
  • -  Civil rights workers--California--Interviews
  • -  Mexican Americans--Civil rights
  • -  Mexican American students--Political activity
  • -  Poor People's Campaign
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Hispanic Americans
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements

Genre

  • Personal narratives
  • Filmed interviews
  • Interviews
  • Oral histories
  • Video recordings

Notes

  • -  Recorded in Alhambra, California, on June 27, 2016.
  • -  Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039: 0139), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
  • -  Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.).
  • -  Carlos Montes was born in 1947 in El Paso, Texas. He was raised in Juarez, Mexico for part of his childhood, and moved to Los Angeles in 1956. While attending East LA Community College, he became involved with various Chicano organizations and eventually co-founded the Brown Berets. He was an organizer of the Chicano Blowouts in East LA, and he participated in numerous protests including the Poor People's Campaign. In 1970 he fled the country and lived underground for several years in both Juarez and El Paso. Since returning to LA in 1980, he has been involved with immigration reform, Chicano rights, freeing political prisoners, and community organizing.
  • -  The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement.
  • -  In English.
  • -  Finding aid http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af013005

Medium

  • 9 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (2:18:32) : digital, sound, color.
  • transcript 1 item (.pdf) : text files.

Source Collection

  • Civil Rights History Project collection AFC 2010/039: 0139

Repository

  • Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC USA 20540 to 4610 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.home

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2016655430

Rights Advisory

  • Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.

Access Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The individuals documented in these collection items retain copyright and related rights to the use of their recorded and written testimonies and memories.  They have granted the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution permission to provide access to their interviews and related materials for purposes that are consistent with each agency’s educational mission, such as publication and transmission, in whole or in part, on the Web. Their written permission is required for commercial, profit-making distribution, reproduction, or other use beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The American Folklife Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. 

Credit Line

Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Montes, Carlos, Interviewee, David P Cline, John Melville Bishop, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Carlos Montes oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Alhambra, California. 2016. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655430/.

APA citation style:

Montes, C., Cline, D. P., Bishop, J. M. & Civil Rights History Project, U. S. (2016) Carlos Montes oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Alhambra, California. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655430/.

MLA citation style:

Montes, Carlos, Interviewee, et al. Carlos Montes oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Alhambra, California. 2016. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2016655430/>.