Legacy of El Clamor

USC has in its archives some precious copies of a noteworthy Spanish-language newspaper in Yankee Los Angeles. El Clamor Público began publishing in 1855, five years after California became a state and the adobes of the former pueblo turned officially "American." What a great story. Here's how the website for an upcoming conference on the legacy of El Clamor puts it:

"Though labeled treacherous, incendiary, and anti-American, eighteen-year-old journalist Francisco P. Ramírez’s newspaper courageously reported lynchings, land frauds, vigilante terror, racial profiling, and legal injustices targeting Spanish-language communities. Ramírez’s faith in the U.S. Constitution guided him as he urged readers to elect trustworthy representatives and to learn English so they could defend their rights. He printed the Declaration of Independence in Spanish and encouraged Californios and Anglos to 'work together in the same spirit.' During its four and a half years, the newspaper published political opinion, international news, literary expressions, and social commentaries."

The conference is Oct. 28 at the Huntington Library. Sponsors are the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the California State University, Northridge Graduate Studies Program Distinguished Speaker Series, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation. The copy pictured is from August 28, 1855. The blog (Recycled) Cholo Knows has more on Francisco Ramirez.