A Museum of Latino History

Legislation has been introduced in Sacramento to create in the Los Angeles area the California Museum of Latino History. It is a timely and constructive proposal.

A feasibility study by a consulting firm has concluded that such a museum “can be a successful and exciting endeavor, fulfilling an important mission that is currently not being served by existing cultural institutions.” We agree.

Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra) has introduced AB 2798 to create the entity, including a nine-member board of directors, which would then face the challenge of funding the acquisition of a collection and operations of the museum. He estimates the cost of land and construction of an appropriate building at not more than $8 million--to be funded by the state, supplemented by an annual state appropriation of $1 million to help with operations. The board would be named by the governor, the Assembly Speaker and the Senate Rules Committee, and would serve three-year staggered terms.

There already is political maneuvering regarding the site, the control and even the mission of the museum, which underscores how important it will be for influential Latinos to develop a consensus as the museum project moves forward.

In the efforts to fund this new project it will also be important to respect existing institutions, particularly the Southwest Museum. Its rich archeological and anthropological collections already celebrate extraordinary Latino contributions. The Southwest Museum’s own financial problems at this time measure the difficulties that lie ahead in assuring adequate resources for the new venture.

The Museum of Latino History need not be a distant dream. An offer has been made of quarters in the Terminal Annex building that is to be vacated by the U.S. Postal Service next year. A nonprofit group was created in 1984 under the name of California Museum of Latino History; it is prepared to take over management of the project, although confidence in its judgment has been clouded by its tentative blueprints for a structure that would include extravagant facilities for the board and chief administrator.

“I have a sense of urgency about the notion of a Latino culture museum,” W. Ann Reynolds, chancellor of the California State University system, said recently, reviewing the loss that has already taken place to other locales of important collections of relevant material. We share her concern, as well as Calderon’s wish to move ahead quickly.