Panel on Same Sex Marriage and Fair Immigration Policies

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A Panel Discussion on: Defending Human Rights: Same Sex Marriage & Fair Immigration Policies

The Michi and Walter Weglyn Endowed Chair for Multicultural Studies (in collaboration with the PRIDE Center and the Civil Rights Legacy Coalition) is sponsoring a panel of speakers on the issues of same sex marriage and fair immigration policies on Wednesday, February 15 from 4 - 6 p. m. in the Bronco Student Center Ursa Major C.


The authors will explore how same sex marriage and new immigration issues have been used to create confusion and division among the American public. At the same time, the authors will discuss the strategies being implemented to advance policies that defend same sex marriage and fair immigration policies as part of a human rights agenda.



The event is free and open to the public. A question and answer period and a reception with the speakers will follow the presentations.


The speakers include:

Christine Chavez - the Southern California Political Director for the United Farm Workers, the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, candidate for the 2006 California State Assembly 45th District, and the coordinator of the annual Cesar Chavez Walk (which attracts more than 10,000 people).



Victor Narro - the Project Director of the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, the former Co-Executive Director of Sweatshop Watch, and former Worker's Rights Project Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of
Los Angeles (CHIRLA). Narro worked with Sweatshop Watch, KIWA, and APAL to create the Garment worker Center in Downtown Los Angeles. His organizing efforts led to the creation of the Multi-ethnic Immigrant Worker's Organizing Network and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. He received a law degree from the University of Richmond, Virginia in 1991. His prior work experience includes the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Central Virginia Legal Aid
Society. He serves on the board of the Popular Education Institute of Southern California, L. A. Center for Law, and the L. A. Chapter of the National Lawyer's Guild.



Marshall Wong - the Senior Human Relations Consultant and Hate Crime Coordinator with the L. A. County Human Relations Commission. He serves
on the steering committee of API Equality - L. A., a coalition working in the Asian Pacific community to advance marriage equality for same sex couples. Previously, he held positions with the Smithsonian Institute and the Mayor's office in Washington, D. C. He was a Fellow in the Kellogg National Leadership Program and received a Community Service Award from the National Multicultural Institute, the Abacus Award from the Organization of Chinese Americans, and the Mayor's Distinguished Service Award from the District of Columbia. He received his B. A. in Sociology and his Master of Social Welfare from UCLA. Recently, Marshall co-authored, "Organizing in Communities of Color: Addressing
Inter-Ethnic Conflicts in Social Justice and has written articles for the Washington Times and Asian Week. In 2004, the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California published a biography he wrote about his father Delbert Wong, the nation's first Chinese American Judge.


Frances Gonzalez
Weglyn Endowed Chair for Multicultural Studies Student Intern