The arc of the life of TOMAS RIVERA<\/strong> [1935-1984] took him from the fields of Texas and the Midwest, to the office of a University of California Chancellor. The son of migrant farm workers, Rivera picked fruits and vegetables till age 20 when he pursued his education full time. He eventually became a\u00a0 Chicano writer, poet and teacher. Tom\u00e1s began writing at twelve and was an eager reader who valued family. Despite the repetitive challenges and barriers placed in his way he had the courage to overcome adversity and open doors for others through education.<\/p>\n

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Sketching for the portrait of Tom\u00e1s Rivera<\/p><\/div>\n
In 1956, he achieved his B.A in English from Southwest Texas University to focus on his writing career instead of migrant work. Rivera published his first novella,\u00a0made up of fourteen short stories in 1971 called\u00a0And the Earth Did Not Devour Him.\u00a0<\/i>This first work won the Premio Quinto Sol<\/em>\u00a0literary prize that recognized and promoted Chicano writers. This notable author and poet never forgot his past and wrote extensively about the life of migrant workers using firsthand experience. He also contributed to a book of poems,\u00a0Always and Other Poems<\/em>\u00a0wrote for the bilingual journal of Mexican-American ideas\u00a0El Grito<\/em>. Rivera’s toolbox was filled with perseverance, hard work, intelligence and the power of his pen. Not only did he dedicate his work to helping others attain higher education, he was determined to encourage and create opportunities for Mexican-Americans so they could break barriers in writing and publishing.<\/p>\n
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As a creative writing teacher he touched numerous lives including my friend, Newbery honor author Margarita Engle<\/em>. Today I’m sharing illustrations I created for the book Bravo! Poems about Amazing Hispanics<\/strong> that Margarita dedicated to Rivera. He made essential contributions to the Chicano Literary Movement and was deeply concerned about education. As a writer he related the challenges he faced growing up and used them to comment on the struggles of being a minority. His stories were told from the perspective of a young narrator.\u00a0As the narrator became more aware of the outside world, he understands morality and immorality. Rivera\u2019s characters avoid stereotypes and are unique giving authentic insight into the Chicano experience.<\/p>\n
Higher education for Hispanic communities was an imperative for Rivera as he knew it would make a difference for individuals and communities. Rivera worked as a high school teacher throughout the Southwest as well as at Sam Houston State University, and the University of Texas at El Paso.\u00a0 He was more than a great teacher, he was a leader and eventaully served as Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside from 1974 till his death. Tom\u00e1s Rivera has the distinction of being\u00a0the first Mexican-American chancellor in the U.C. system.<\/p>\n
Rivera was an educational activist and his literary works focused on personal struggles key to advancing Latina\/o literature. A blazing comet his career lighted a course of of encouragement for other Latina\/o authors to tell their own stories in published works. His own poetic stories were rich with attention to detail and grounded in his own experiences.<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n <\/p>\nAn activist, he served as president of the Alamo Valley chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese<\/em> and he was a\u00a0 founder of the National Council of Chicanos in Higher Education<\/em>. He was appointed to higher education commissions by two sitting Presidents. On the board of the Carnegie Institute<\/em> he also founded the Tom\u00e1s Rivera Institute for Public Policy on Chicanos in Higher Education<\/em> based at the Pomona<\/em> College campus. Santa Clara University<\/em> awarded him an honorary doctorate and he was named a distinguished graduate by Southwest Texas State University<\/em>. His reach extended further by serving on the boards of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting<\/em> and\u00a0 Educational Testing Service<\/em> of Princeton, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6462\" src=\"http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blog.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"398\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blog.jpg 925w, http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blog-271x300.jpg 271w, http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blog-768x850.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" \/><\/p>\nIn 1978 he married Concepci\u00f3n Garza and together they raised three kids.Texas State University College of Education<\/em> created The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tom%C3%A1s_Rivera_Award\">T<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tom%C3%A1s_Rivera_Award\">om\u00e1s Rivera Mexican American Children\u2019s Book Award<\/a> in 1995. It recognizes authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience. On the Riverside campus, the University of California<\/em> named the plaza to honor his legacy. There are 85,000 items in his archive, especially remarkable because Tom\u00e1s Rivera was the first person in his family to ever attend college. Rivera had the vision to see that generations of migrant workers could attain higher education, contribute and reach their goals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6288\" style=\"width: 1228px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6288\" class=\"wp-image-6288 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-24-at-10.11.26-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1218\" height=\"1484\" srcset=\"http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-24-at-10.11.26-AM.png 1218w, http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-24-at-10.11.26-AM-246x300.png 246w, http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-24-at-10.11.26-AM-768x936.png 768w, http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-24-at-10.11.26-AM-840x1024.png 840w, http:\/\/rafaellopez.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-24-at-10.11.26-AM-1080x1316.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1218px) 100vw, 1218px\" \/>Final portrait of Tom\u00e1s Rivera for Bravo! Poems about Amazing Hispanics.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The arc of the life of TOMAS RIVERA took him from the fields of Texas and the Midwest, to the office of a University of California Chancellor. As a writer he related the challenges he faced growing up and used them to comment on the struggles of being a minority. Rivera’s toolbox was filled with perseverance, hard work, intelligence and the power of his pen. 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