Julian Nava (June 19, 1927 – July 29, 2022) was an American educator and diplomat. A member of the Democratic Party, Nava served as the

United States Ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett bec ...

from 1980 to 1981.

Life

Julian Nava was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, to Mexican immigrants in 1927, and was one of eight siblings. Nava grew up in the ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...

'' of

East L.A. East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

In 1945, he volunteered for the Air Corps of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Nava, along with other "Rough Riders" who had volunteered for the Armed Forces, was allowed to wear his Navy uniform for the Roosevelt High School graduation ceremony in 1945. Upon his return to Los Angeles, Nava studied at East Los Angeles Community College before transferring to

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

, one of the prestigious

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)— Pomona College, Sc ...

. After earning his undergraduate degree in history in 1951, Nava earned a PhD in

Latin American history The term ''Latin America'' primarily refers to the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in the New World. Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the region was home to many indigenous peoples, a number of ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1955. He taught in Venezuela, Spain,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, and Colombia, where he founded Centro de Estudios Universitarios in Bogota. From 1957 to 2000, Nava was Professor of History at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

(CSUN). At the time of his death Nava was a Professor Emeritus of History. In 1967, the Congress of Mexican American Unity (ninety-two community groups) nominated him to run for the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

Board of Education. Nava became the first

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

to serve on the board (composed of thirteen cities including Los Angeles). He was elected to three consecutive terms, from 1967 to 1979. In 1980, he was appointed

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett b ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. He was the first Mexican-American to hold the position. In 1981, Nava was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

. In 1992, he ran for mayor of

. In 1993, Nava was a pallbearer at the funeral of the labor leader

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...

. Nava had worked with Chavez since his time with the Community Service Organization in Los Angeles immediately after the Second World War. In the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

HBO film '' Walkout'', the role of Dr. Julian Nava is played by director

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...

. Independently, Nava produced several documentary films. He explored the history of the

Basque people The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

in “Song of the Basque,” funded by the

Basque government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...

. He then produced and co-directed “Voices of Cuba” with Todd Mattox. More recently, Nava produced a documentary on cross-border migration to and from the United States in two languages, “Zacatecanos de ida y vuelta” (Roundtrip Zacatecanos). Nava greatly enjoyed travel and visited Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, Great Britain, Russia, China, and Tibet. Nava lectured widely about multicultural education and served on the board of directors of Encuentros, which promotes education among young Latino males. In 2011, a

LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

school was named after him—the Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy . In 2014 another

school was named after him—the Nava College Preparatory Academy. In 2015, Nava published a historical novel, ''Taming the Chinese Dragon: Young Love in Changing Tibet.''

Personal life

Nava died on July 29, 2022, at the age of 95. He was retired, and lived in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

with his wife Patricia.

Legacy

Nava's archives are held in the Special Collections and Archives section of the University Library at

. Another collection of his papers is held at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Bibliography

*''Mexican Americans: A Brief Look at Their History'', 1970. New York City: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. *''The Mexican American in American History'', 1973. New York City: American Book Co. *''Mexican American Profiles: Bilingual Biographies for Today'', 1974 (with Michelle Hall). Walnut Creek, California: Aardvark Media. *''California: Five Centuries of Cultural Contrasts'', 1976 (with Bob Barger). Beverly Hills: Glencoe Press. *''Julian Nava: My Mexican-American Journey'', 2002. Houston:

Arte Público Press Arte Público Press is a publishing house associated with the University of Houston (Houston, Texas). It is the largest US publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by US Hispanic authors, publishing approximately 30 titles per year. Ar ...

. *''The Latino Guide to Creating Family Histories: A Handbook for Students, Parents & Teachers'', 2012 (WPR Books) *''Taming the Chinese Dragon: Young Love in Changing Tibet'', 2015. (WPR Book)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nava, Julian 1927 births 2022 deaths Harvard University alumni American academics of Mexican descent American writers of Mexican descent Pomona College alumni Hispanic and Latino American diplomats American expatriates in Venezuela American expatriates in Spain American expatriates in Colombia California Democrats California State University, Northridge faculty East Los Angeles College alumni School board members in California Military personnel from California Writers from Los Angeles Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico