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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to Mexican

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

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

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

'' of East L.A. In 1945, he volunteered for the Air Corps of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. 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 university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, one of the prestigious

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

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

Latin American history The term ''Latin America'' originated in the 1830s, primarily through Michel Chevalier, who proposed the region could ally with "Latin Europe" against other European cultures. It primarily refers to the French, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking cou ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1955. He taught in Venezuela, Spain,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, 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, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

(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 State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

Board of Education. Nava became the first

Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

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 bec ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian 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 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 is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...

. In 1992, he ran for mayor of

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

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

. 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 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

HBO film ''

Walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

'', the role of Dr. Julian Nava is played by

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

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

Basque people The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous to, and primarily i ...

in “Song of the Basque,” funded by the

Basque government The Basque Government (, ; ) 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 Parliament every four years, after a re ...

. 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 State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

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 southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

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 Hispanic-American authors, publishing approximately 30 titles per ye ...

. *''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