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This is Irene Ruiz interviewing. Robert Parra at the Kansas City, Missouri Public Library. On April 29, 1977 Parish Center and manager of the Employment and training systems West Side Center. Mr. Parra, would you give me a little information on your place of birth and the date

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of birth? I was born October 23, 1945 in Kansas City, Kansas. OK. Would you give me, um, a little bit about your early life? Something about your parents or your, Family, or at least your number of brothers and sisters, the location where you resided. Uh, We

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lived in Kansas City, Kansas, up until 1951. Uh, at that time I was, uh, Entering the first grade and I entered the first grade at the Switzer School in Kansas City, Missouri. Of course, the flood forced us to move from Kansas City, Kansas to Kansas City,

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Missouri, and have, uh, resided in Kansas City, Missouri since 1951. My parents are both from Michoacan, Mexico. My father was from La Piedad. And my mother was from Samoa, both in Michoacan. OK, can you uh give me a little description of the neighborhood, uh, where you

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grew up, the, the earliest things that you remember? Something about the neighborhood, something of the socioeconomic Background of the neighborhood? Well, certainly in Kansas City, Kansas, I guess the influences there were, uh, the packing houses. My father worked at, uh, Swifts and Company in the Armadale

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district, and at the time, I think there were other packing houses and railroads, uh, near the neighborhood, uh, where we grew up. After we, uh, moved from Kansas City, Kansas, we moved into. Uh, Kansas, Missouri, and it was a different. So, prior to 51 is where,

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where the area that you recall would be around the packing houses, right? The packing house, the stockyards, uh, this sort of thing. Also, I think the railroad was probably not too far away, and most of the people that lived in the neighborhood probably worked at either

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the packing house or the railroad. I see. Um, what about the, uh, area that you moved into in 1951? Is this, as you say, you lived a greater part of your early life there then? Uh, what do you recall of that? The area is called, of

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course, the west side, and it's an integrated neighborhood, uh, black, Anglo, and Chicano. And uh. It's the home of uh Guadalupe Center, now known as Guadalupe Parish Center. And uh it was one of the early uh settlements in Kansas City, Missouri for the Mexican American community.

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You already mentioned your father did work at the um packing house. Is this where he worked the greater. Number of years or greater number of The most of the time that you recall, was this his employment? This was, uh, his employment. He came to Kansas City

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from Fort Worth, Texas, where he was working, uh, in the packing house. I think he spent about a year. Uh, moving from Fort Worth to, uh, Chicago. Or possibly East Chicago, uh. But really didn't like uh living there, so the family moved into the Kansas City

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area. Was there any particular reason why, um, he chose to come to Kansas City or his family chose to come to Kansas City? I think it was probably economics, of course, um. I think they felt that there were more opportunities in terms of employment. In the

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Kansas City area. Can you tell me something about the schools that you attended and for what length of time? OK, I attended, I I went to John J. Ingalls School in Kansas City, Kansas, um. During my first year, which was was kindergarten. And uh after that,

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I went to Switzer. Uh, On the west side and to West Junior High School on the west side. And graduated from uh Westport High School. Westburn High School. What year was this? This was in 1963. Was there anything in particular that stands out in your mind

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about the the schools that you attended in Kansas City, Missouri? All right. Um, I would like to know something about the organizations to what church did you belong and why you belong to it? The church in the neighborhood was Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and uh

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were your parents members? Yes. What about your, your neighbors? Did, uh, the majority of them belong to this church also? I think so. I think probably the majority. Were members of Our Lady Guadalupe Church. For how many years did you continue as a member of the

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church? You are still active with it, so I guess you would say the present from then on. Did you belong to any other organizations in your, in your, Uh, younger years, I mean in your junior high or Even I was elementary grades. I guess in, High

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school I was a member of uh a Spanish club at Westport called El Circulo Calderon. And, um, I think I did develop an interest in. Oh, Mexican American culture and maybe. Things related to, uh, literature, probably back then as a result of, uh, some of the

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activities of that particular club. Why, why did you, uh, choose the club to begin with? Why did you, were you already interested in, in language or for what reason? Well, I think that because we did hear Spanish at home. You know, I, I did have an

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interest in language. However, I. Had never received any formal training in Spanish so we did, I did, uh, take Spanish at the high school level and because we. Because I took the the language classes at the high school level, naturally I became interested in in the

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language and and followed up that interest by participating in this particular club. So what, what were the um particular goals or service of this club then primarily emphasis on the language or primarily emphasis on the, the language and, uh, certainly social and cultural. And uh. It

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was an opportunity for people that shared these kinds of uh interests to come together and and to talk about the language and the literature. Do you recall some of the other members of the organization? I think a lot of the members at that time were people

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from the west side. People from the neighborhood. And this was an opportunity. You know, prior to the, uh, United Mexican American Student Organizations or the MECAs, etc. for Mexican American students to come together, uh, maybe that was not the original intent of these kinds of groups

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there quite a few Mexicans, but there were quite a few, uh, uh, Chicanos in. These particular organizations. I think this was probably though a start of that, in other words, maybe prior to. To 1963. The clubs were made up primarily of Banglore students, but Um, As

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more uh Mexican Americans uh began going to Westport High School and I think at the time that I was a student there. The minority group population at the high school was something like 3%. So we're still talking about a, a small group. I think today it's

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probably over 60%. But uh this was probably the beginnings of uh. A group that was concerned about Mexican Americans and maybe the only vehicle available at the time. Um, In terms of the system, in terms of the structure. Um, would be a club on Spanish language

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and literature. Was, did you belong to any other club or any other organization then, either at school or outside of the school? Were you active? I wouldn't say I was active. I think I was kind of drafted into, uh, a literary society, uh, in high school.

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And tried my hand at writing, but I don't think it was something that I was terribly active in. I think people just uh probably needed a brown face. In the crowd and I got uh drafted into uh being a member of one of the literary societies

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at Westport, but I thought it was interesting. I thought it was part of overall learning experience. So then you were, you would say you were at least involved to some extent in the in the um Spanish. Organization and in the literary one. Right. And I was

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also a member of the, uh, staff, the newspaper staff. So I think that, um, I did participate to some extent in extracurricular activities at the high school level. All right. Do you recall your favorite hobby as a child or as an adolescent or even as a

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young adult, have you? Had one interest or various ones? I think it was probably various interests, you know, um, photography certainly has, has been one of them. Um, For a period of time. Probably that would be the primary. The Hobby. Uh, what person or persons do

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you remember in your experiences with the community? Do you recall any that were perhaps active or maybe in some way influenced or inspired you, or? Had some effect on you? Probably there's been a number of people. That have had, uh An effect Um, Certainly I can

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think of um. The lack of of political. Uh, awareness in the community as being maybe a motivating factor in that people were trying to develop. An awareness and we're having a really hard time, you know, with it. I can think of, uh, people like uh El

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Video Rocha running for state senator. And really mobilizing some pretty good support at a time when this just wasn't done, you know, uh, we didn't have any elected officials, and here instead of trying for one of the smaller jobs, a committeeman or or something like that,

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he's, he's running for state senator. I think that this was an influence, I think, uh, in the community. Other people later tried to organize various organizations and were active in various groups. So, as a result of his launching that, um, career, if you want to call

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it, even though he was unsuccessful, he's on his bid for that, uh, position, at least it made some of you more aware and, uh, developed an interest or maybe, as you say, others started. Farming A group or groups that later on would be effective in electing

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some Mexican American to a certain position right after that, you know, like, like you're saying, we were able to organize groups, one being the Mexican American Organization for Progress, and that group was able to expand its horizons and talk about things like scholarships and talk about

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things like cultural programs. Certainly Francisco Rui had an important role to play in. In the development of that organization in terms of an awareness, in terms of bringing together a cultural recreational program back in 1967, I believe. And uh I would say that Francisco Rees up

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to the present. Has been a tremendous influence on me. All right. Now, uh, I know you have already alluded to the, um, to the flood in Kansas City in '51, which caused, Certainly had an effect on your life. Uh, would you say the flood had a

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great effect on, on, on many other residents, particularly of the west side? I can think of two events that probably have influenced the west side, uh, in terms of migration. One certainly was the flood in 1951. The other has probably been the destruction of the west

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side by various freeways. The flood caused people to move out of Kansas, out of the Armadale, Argentine area into Missouri. The freeways caused them to move from the west side into other areas of the city. Uh, some people see this as a plus, some people see

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it as a minus, but it, it's just a fact of life. It happened. And, uh. So, in other words, now the, the, uh, community is just dispersing, whereas even after the flood, they were more or less still in one, The basically the majority were in one

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area, but now with the Um, Changes that you've uh referred to that the people are just completely sent to other areas of the city entirely, I think, however, though, even though there is a dispersal. Uh, and this probably Will require, you know. Maybe the test of

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time to see how, how this actually develops. It seems though that the Mexican American community or Spanish speaking community is remaining in a western corridor of the city. Um, Presently, you know, you see a lot of people moving into, um, the Coleman Highlands area around Carnes

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Boulevard, etc. You see people moving into, uh, other parts of the Westport community. It seems that, uh, for the most part the high concentration of Spanish speaking people still remains in a Western corridor and probably this is what the. Uh, will remain true in the future.

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Let's see. Now, um, I know one other event, Such as the depression or the Repatriation for many Mexican Americans were sent back to Mexico and where many families, our family life was disrupted. Do you recall that or do you? Know how it affected you, your family

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or you personally? OK. When we were, uh, in school, elementary school, My mother was, in fact, Well, I'm not, not, not sure of the details, but she did have to go back to Mexico, uh, To have her papers straightened out. She came over at an early

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age, uh, in the twenties. And apparently was not legal. And, um, This was, this was disruptive to the family and that, you know, we were. Fairly young at the time and, uh, to have her leave, you know, forced to leave to, uh, get her papers straightened

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out. Or was she gone for several months or a year or length of, Oh, you don't remember exactly. All right. Um, was there, um, any other event that, you know, affected you or people in the, in the West Side, particularly, such as World War II? You

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don't, uh, care to elaborate on that. OK. Would you, uh, like to tell me a little bit about, I know you've been attending college classes, and would you tell me a little bit about, Your experiences there or other training that you've I mean undertaking. OK, I've

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attended the Penn Valley Community College, UMKC in Rockhurst. My major emphasis uh has been sociology. And presently I'm enrolled at the Rockhurst. Pursuing a degree in sociology. In sociology, are you, um, Fairly well, um, advanced. I mean a degree is not too far away. I hope

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so. It's not too far away. Have you, have you enjoyed your experiences at the different places? I think it's been, uh, rewarding. Now, so, um, The work that you are presently doing or your career, if you wanna call it that, would you tell me how that

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came about, or is this is a result of your interest in the community and helping your fellow? I I think so, I think that um. I've worked for various social service or social oriented uh agencies over the past 10 years and I think as a result

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of that I'm presently involved with employment and training. I think a lot of the things that I've done in the past have kind of uh geared me to this particular direction. I mentioned an interest in sociology, an interest in language, and also an interest in, uh,

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political science. I think all of these. Interests have perhaps influenced my um. Uh, present position. I'm working presently with people who are unemployed or underemployed who need training many of them are Spanish speaking dominant, so they need uh training in English some are, uh. Lacking Uh,

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Just basic training in terms of a high school diploma or some particular type of skill training that can uh. Help them get a job. So we're our primary goal of course is job placement, trying to find employment for people that are, like I said, unemployed or

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underemployed, and we're trying to utilize the various training institutions, uh, throughout the city in order to meet this particular need. It certainly is rewarding work and that you can see progress, it's measurable. You can see people obtaining employment and bettering their lives through education or through

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uh various types of training. All right, would you want to mention briefly any achievements or honors that you have received or how this came about, or at least some things that you consider maybe. Outstanding. Certainly, um. Most recently, I received a plaque from the mayor. Uh,

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for my work with model cities, those were very chaotic years for me, from 1969 to 1973. And that we were trying to. Develop various programs to meet the various social-economic needs of the West Side community. I think if anything concrete was developed, it was perhaps an

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awareness that Working together. Residents of the west side can get things done. Residents of the west side need to work together to have political clout in the city. And that uh this whole question of citizen participation is important if we are to make changes in our,

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our daily lives. Certainly we need to impact more significantly than we have on city government, state government, federal government, and I think the model cities program was an experiment in, uh, impacting. Um, these various, um, Uh, groups or agencies that have an influence on our lives.

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And so I'm, I'm proud of the fact that uh. I came out of that experience, you know, in one piece and that they were very, you know, chaotic years. Difficult. Difficult, right? And, uh, but I think I'm a better person. Uh, for having participated in that

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whole process. And I think I came out of it, you know, a better person. Very good. Now, you've already, um, said a little something about your, your future plans include, um, getting a degree. Uh, do you have anything else in mind besides that? Plans for your

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future or immediate or maybe not so near. OK, I, I am interested in, in writing, and I'm interested, as I mentioned, in still in photography, and I'd like to develop. A, uh, documentary project on. The Mexican American community perhaps not limiting uh the project to the

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West Side, maybe having a broader scope and trying to uh work on a history of uh the Mexican American people from 1910 to the present. I think that uh there seems to be an interest right now certainly in the Mexican American people, in other words, maybe

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in throughout Kansas City, not necessarily. Residing there now, but. Right, right. Probably came from that area and who are now in other parts of the area. Right. And, uh, I think this is something that would interest me and it's something that, uh, I've kind of put

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little pieces together, but it, it hasn't been some, something that I've devoted uh, uh, a lot of time to, but I think I need to become more serious about that and develop some, uh, Some material and just spend some time on it. I think oftentimes we

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get involved in so many committees and so many boards that we just don't find the time for it, but I'm gonna try, certainly this summer to to find some time to uh work on this particular project. Uh, and, and try to, Try to have it published

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And of course you're still involved with uh, with, say, the Guadalupe Parish Center and probably some other organizations, is that right? Right, I was just reelected this week as a matter of fact, for my 3rd term as president of the Guadalupe Parish Center and certainly the

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activities of the center will be taking up uh. Uh, some of my time, and I think it's an important, uh, venture, it's an important effort. I think we need to keep the center alive. We need to, uh, foster some growth there, and I think that, uh,

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there's a lot of people that are interested in, in maintaining, uh, the Guadalupe Parish Center as a Christian cultural center for the Mexican American community in Kansas City, Missouri. Is there any other organization that you're active with, I mean, civic or cultural right now, or is

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that? Presently I'm the first vice chairman of the Kansas City Missouri Human Relations Commission. Uh, we are involved in updating a report called Towards Quality Education for Mexican Americans, and we will be focusing some attention on the educational needs of the Mexican American community. As a

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member of the human relations commission, I also chair the housing committee for the commission. And we're starting to look at some housing strategies that will affect the entire city. And hopefully we can update a report that was published in 1973 by the Temporary advisory Committee on

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housing, a committee appointed by the mayor that uh makes various recommendations in the area of housing that affect the entire city, that's both uh private housing, uh, public housing, and multi-family dwellings, etc. This. Uh, Leads me to one other organization that I'm involved presently with, and

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that's an organization called W. It stands for West Side Housing Organization. And I barely became involved with that organization about a month ago. I've gone to about 4 meetings and we're Developing a board and we're gonna try to hire a staff. And we're gonna try to

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do something about housing very specifically on the west side. I think that, uh, still that's a very important problem in our community, and if uh we don't do something about it now, it just won't be standing in the next, you know, few years. Housing on the

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west side does not, for the most part, meet city codes. We have to find a way of bringing these homes up to code and certainly by Coming about with a program of grants and loans and also putting in some public improvements, I think that we can,

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uh, Make some significant inroads into the whole question of uh housing on the West Side, at least this is what we're trying to do with this West Side housing organization. So I can, I can tell that you are a very busy person and we'll keep on

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being busy. Thank you very much, Mr. Parra, and that concludes this interview.