Dionicio Morales Papers, 1929-2008 CSRC.0092

http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8qv3nvv No online items Finding Aid for the Dionicio Morales Papers, 1929-2008 CSRC.0092 Finding aid prepared by Mia Counts. Chicano Studies Research Center Library 2016 144 Haines Hall Box 951544 Los Angeles, California 90095-1544 [email protected] URL: http://chicano.ucla.edu Finding Aid for the Dionicio CSRC.0092 1 Morales Papers, 1929-2008 CSRC.0092 Contributing Institution: Chicano Studies Research Center Library Title: Dionicio Morales Papers Creator: Morales, Dionicio 1918 - 2008 Identifier/Call Number: CSRC.0092 Physical Description: 29.6 linear feet Date (inclusive): 1929-2008 Abstract: In 1963 Dionicio Morales, the son of Mexican American farmworkers, founded the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF) in East Los Angeles to better the lives of Mexican American families by providing services such as education and job training. MAOF has endured and prospered for nearly five decades, working in partnership with government entities, organized labor, private foundations, and the community at large. This collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, personal papers documenting Morales's family history, manuscripts, and organizational papers reflecting his work with the MAOF and numerous other public entities. The collection is heavily weighted toward photographic documentation, providing a unique visual record of Mexican American family, culture, and social organizing throughout the twentieth century. The collection is also notable in that it contains typed, hand-notated drafts of many of Morales's speeches and lectures. COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library for paging information. Language of Material: English . Access Open for research. Acquisition Information This collection was donated by Dionicio Morales in 2008. Since then, additional materials have been donated by the surviving members of his family including his wife Maria Morales, as well as his daughters, Magdalena and Margarita Morales. Biography Born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1918, and raised in Moorpark, California, by farmworker parents, Dionicio Morales witnessed at a very young age the hardships associated with agricultural labor and the injustices confronting Mexican Americans in a society that was still largely segregated. Although Morales struggled to get an education, he stated that he had inherited a "sense of determination and dogged persistence" from his father, who fought for a better life for his family. Morales persevered, first graduating from Moorpark High School in 1937 and then attending Santa Barbara State College. He went on to major in sociology at the University of Southern California, where he obtained his degree in 1944. Morales founded the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF) in 1963. As the president of the MAOF, he devoted his career to improving the lives of Mexican American families. MAOF has endured and prospered for nearly five decades, providing services that include early childhood and adult education and job training. The organization works in partnership with government entities, organized labor, private foundations, and the community at large. The importance of the MAOF's work was recognized by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who supported one of many funding proposals submitted by Morales to the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant, which MAOF received in 1965, enabled on-the-job training for 400 workers. This was the first grant awarded by the Department of Labor to a community-based organization. Today the MAOF is one of the largest Mexican American community organizations in the nation. The MAOF has trained women for higher-skilled employment through programs that develop their computer and managerial skills and has created programs that help the elderly obtain part-time employment. Serving as a model nationwide, the organization has developed literacy programs for children that are aimed at overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers and established child care centers serving roughly 1,500 children on a daily basis. The MAOF also maintains a food bank in East Los Angeles and offers home improvement programs for low-income families and an assistance program aimed at helping immigrants adjust their legal status in the United States. It has community outreach centers throughout in Bakersfield, Downey, Oxnard, Pico Rivera, Salinas, San Diego, and Santa Ana, California. In 1970 Morales formed the U.S.-Mexico Liaison Committee aimed at developing relations between the two countries through education and greater communication. The committee met annually with top Mexican dignitaries. Serving as a goodwill ambassador, it fostered good relations between the neighboring nations. As a commissioner for the California Apprenticeship Council, Morales helped insure the involvement of underrepresented groups in building and construction apprenticeships. Appointed by Governor Ronald Reagan, Morales served in this capacity Finding Aid for the Dionicio CSRC.0092 2 Morales Papers, 1929-2008 CSRC.0092 for four years. Later he was an advisor to the California Employment Development Department and a member of the Los Angeles County Manpower Council. He was also a member of the National Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Labor, serving under Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. During the Clinton administration he was appointed to an advisory committee for the North America Development Bank. He also served as a board member on the Century Freeway Commission, the National Council of Senior Citizens, the Los Angeles Child Care Advisory Board, and the U.S. Senate's Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Dionicio Morales Papers, 92, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles. Processing History Processed by Mia Counts in 2012 at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Processing of this collection was generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Finding aid revised and edited by Doug Johnson, 2020. The revision took place during the global pandemic, so there was no access to the materials. Related Material Julian Nava Papers, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, California State University, Los Angeles Julian Nava Papers, Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge Julian Nava Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Edward Ross Roybal Papers, UCLA Library Department of Special Collections Edward R. Roybal Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Grace Montanez Davis Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center American GI Forum of CA Records, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Ricardo Munoz Papers, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Scope and Content This collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, personal papers documenting Morales's family history, manuscripts, and organizational papers reflecting his work with the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF) and other public entities. The collection is heavily weighted toward photographic documentation, providing a unique visual record of Mexican American family, culture, and social organizing throughout the twentieth century. The collection is also notable in that it contains typed, hand-notated drafts of many of Morales's speeches and lectures on a variety of subjects. The collection is organized into the following series: 1. Series 1. Photographs 2. Series 2. Manuscripts 3. Series 3. Clippings and Research Materials 4. Series 4. Audio/Visual Materials 5. Series 5. Awards and Event Programs Publication Rights These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of materials, including but not limited to infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials. Subjects and Indexing Terms Mexican American Opportunity Foundation Child care services Career fairs Series 1. Photographs Box 1, Folders 1-8 34th Annual Aztec Awards - Century Plaza Hotel 2001 Box 1, 32nd Annual Aztec Awards - Century Plaza Hotel 1999 Folders 9-21 Box 1, Folder 22 Head Start Childcare Center Opening / Annual Mexico/USA Conference in Oaxaca 1995 Physical Description: 15 Color Photographs, 3 Black and White Photographs Box 1, Folder 22 Partners for Progress: MAOF - 7-Eleven 1995 Finding Aid for the Dionicio CSRC.0092 3 Morales Papers, 1929-2008 CSRC.0092 Series 1. Photographs Box 1, Folder 23 Unidentified ceremony undated Physical Description: 18 Color Photographs, 15 Black and White Photographs Box 1, Folder 24 27th Annual Aztec Awards 1994 Physical Description: 14 Color Photographs, 4 Black and White Photographs Scope and Contents note Also includes unidentifieed ceremony. Box 1, Folder 25 Unidentified award ceremonies undated Physical Description: 18 Color Photographs Box 1, Folder 26 MAOF outreach / school graduation 1991 Physical Description: 18 Color Photographs Box 1, Folder 27 Fiesta Ranchera / Aztec Awards / Building Campaign undated Physical Description: 52 Color Photographs, 2 Black and White Photographs Box 1, Folder 28 18th Annual Mexico/USA Conference - Oaxaca / Guanajuato Governor Vicente Fox 1995-1996 Physical Description: 16 Color Photographs Box 1, Folder

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