The Battle of Blythe recounts the founding
of Escuela de la Raza Unida, the first alternative Chicano/Indigenous school. The school began in Blythe, California amid the strife of the grape boycott, in 1972. This video highlights VHS footage of Cesar Chavez, Bert Corona, and Alfredo Figueroa.
Escuela de la Raza Unida was founded by the Figueroa Family, part of a lifelong commitment to education and betterment of Chicano and Indigenous peoples.
In the super-heated summers
of the fight against siting large solar on Native American sacred lands, Sr. Figueroa, already a legend in California on account of his work with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, would be referred to as an activist, despite the role he has played as an educator and historian. It would be important to validate the 50+ years of research as a Chemehuevi cultural monitor, and validate also Sr. Figueroa’s (and family’s) role in founding and administering Escuela de la Raza Unida.