Luis Zapata Oral History Interview

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

The oral history consists of six digital files: 2011.174.95.1a, 2011.174.95.1b, 2011.174.95.1c, 2011.174.95.1d, 2011.174.95.1e, and 2011.174.95.1f. Luis Zapata describes his childhood in Orange County, California, and how he came to join the labor movement as a college student at San Jose State University. He discusses the organizing work he did with the United Farm Workers and how he ended up moving to Cleveland, Mississippi, for four years where he organized for the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union and helped to register voters with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Zapata also discusses his later involvement in the congressional campaign of Mike Espy as well as his participation in international movements for human rights.

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