Faith, Politics & the Origins of the Sanctuary Movement in Los Angeles
Mario Garcia, University Endowed Chair at UC Santa Barbara, talked about Father Luis Olivares (1934–1993), the founder and promoter of the sanctuary city movement in the U.S. As described in Garcia’s book, Father Olivares, a Biography: Faith, Politics & the Origins of the Sanctuary Movement in Los Angeles (2018, UNC Press), Olivares was a Catholic priest who protected hundreds of thousands of persecuted immigrants whose lives were forever changed by civil wars and repressive regimes in El Salvador and Nicaragua and by U.S. Latin American foreign policy. Garcia’s biography is based on previously unexamined archives and over ninety oral histories. He and traces the life and legacy of Olivares, including his close friendship with legendary civil rights leader César Chávez.
This event was sponsored by the Department of Sociology and the Latin American Studies Program as part of the 2019 Latin American Studies Program Lecture Series on May 16th. It was co-sponsored by the Jesuit Community, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Erkman Endowment Fund from the Office for Multicultural Learning, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Departments of Ethnic Studies, History, Modern Languages and Literatures, Religious Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, Campus Ministry, & Latina/Latino Faculty Group.