CSUN Professor Wins Book Award

A book by a Cal State Northridge professor about Latino life in Los Angeles has won an annual award given for books on human rights, racism and intolerance.

Chicano studies professor Rodolfo F. Acuna received the award from the Gustavus Myers Center in Arkansas for his book “Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles.”

“His book is a scholarly account of racism in Los Angeles,” said James R. Bennett, director of the center, which has been presenting the annual awards since 1984.

The 65-year-old CSUN professor, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, was one of 120 authors who received Gustavus Myers awards this year.

“Judging by the quality of his book, [Acuna] seems to be quite a scholar of the whole Latino population in Southern California, and there aren’t very many books out there on the subject,” Bennett said. “All aspects have been well researched, which is the chief criteria for the award.”

During his career, Acuna has also received the Outstanding Scholar’s Award from the National Assn. for Chicano Studies and the Liberty Hill Award for community service.

Acuna is the founding chairman of CSUN’s Chicano studies program, which began in 1969, and has written 13 books, including the coming “Sometimes There Is No Other Side: Chicanos and the Myth of Equality.”

The Gustavus Myers Center is named for an early 20th century historian who was a pioneer in the study of race relations in North America.