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#1: Where is South Phoenix?

In historiography?

Demographics (5th county in US)

In geography?

South side, west side
Major boundaries (can you guess?)

In history?

So, where exactly is South Phoenix? Historians mostly agree that the earliest boundaries of South Phoenix began with the isolation of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the southern parts of Phoenix township when the railroad was completed in 1887. This portion of South Phoenix exists between the central corridor of downtown Phoenix and the north bank of the Salt River. Neighborhoods in this South Phoenix include Las Avenidas, Grant, Marcos de Niza, Linville, and Golden Gate. By the 1890s, this area became known as both “South Phoenix,” and “simply Mexican and poor.” Over the years “South Phoenix” has continued to be shorthand for Mexican and poor, and also black and poor, as well as Asian and poor. The moniker also came to encompass more territory and space over time, as boundaries shifted and city life and farming life began to blend together.

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#2 Two Boards: One College ��A Growing District (1962-1977) for transfer education

District “local” Board, elected
State Board, appointed

1962. GovBoardMinutes (Image provided by South Mountain Community College, South Phoenix Oral History Project)

2023. MCCCD Campuses and Service Areas (South’s potential 1978 service area highlighted)

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#3: Activists, known and unknown

Alfredo Gutierrez: Student activist - turned politician, who organized a boycott and walkout at Arizona State University regarding pay and treatment for domestic laborers when he was a student. Later became House Majority Leader in the Arizona State Senate

Alfredo de los Santos: The first Hispanic college president from Laredo, TX by way of El Paso, was a finalist for the Chancellor position for the Maricopa Community Colleges in 1977. When he was passed over for Paul Elsner, Elsner turned around and hired him as Vice Chancellor.

de los Santos later hired Raul Cardenas, from UC Berkeley who had helped to found the El Paso Community College with Alfredo in the mid-1970s. Cardenas and de los Santos were trailblazers and activists in higher education, creating organizations and pathways for Hispanic leaders throughout their storied careers.

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#4: “Those people don’t need a college down there.”

District Board; April 1978

State Board stalls, 1979

The newly formed District’s charge was to grow the system, primarily to serve as a transfer program for Arizona State University. Several “extension” campuses opened, as Glendale and Mesa Community Colleges were approved in the mid-1960s. Within a few years, Maricopa Technical College (later GateWay Community College) was brought into the fold, along with Scottsdale Community College. The new campuses were built in areas that had either burgeoning or predicted residential development. Early feasibility studies done by the state legislature and Arizona State University suggested an average enrollment of about 2,000 students per year for each campus site that was approved. The state could be confident with those numbers in Glendale, Mesa, and Scottsdale. South Phoenix, however, was not considered a viable option.

On April 18, 1978, Elsner and a District Board Member introduced Motion A-10.b, “Resolution: Establishment of South County Community College.” This would create a campus in the southwest part of the city, along with a president to oversee the logistics. Some Board and community guests agreed this “move was long overdue,” while guests, including Lawrence McHenry of the NAACP and Merl Morris, agreed. In opposition, White and wealthy board members motioned to table the resolution of South County Community College but was overruled. District Governing Board President Robertson supported his longtime peer’s resolution and suggested a special working meeting to finalize the decision.[1] They scheduled the meeting for April 22^nd but failed to make quorum when the majority of the Board protested by not going. The discussion was put off to the next regular District Board meeting, April 25^th, 1978.

The first point of business on April 25^th was to discuss the resolution to establish South County Community College. Dr. Cliff Harkins of the State Community Colleges Board began. He claimed it was his “duty to monitor” the District Board’s activities, and “stated that a new college would be expensive,” but that the State Board might provide some financial support. This support, however, hinged on the condition that, “The local district must prove to the State Board that there is an education[al] need for the campus.” “The local board,” he reminded, “does not select the site.” “Location of the site must be selected by the State Community College Board.” He ended with, “And listen carefully, please. Upon approval of 2/3 of the members present the State Board will submit the educational plan for the additional campus to the State Legislature. The time of submission will be at the discretion of the State Board.”

Following Dr. Harkins’ announcement, Roger Brooks reread the proposed Resolution for South County Community College. Barbara Hitchcock of the wealthy neighborhoods Scottsdale, Carefree, and Cave Creek took the floor, recommending that the District Board again table the decision, calling for “solid, well-researched convincing data as to feasibility, which will be forthcoming in mid-May, two weeks from tonight.” She cautioned the District Board against “irresponsibility toward taxpayer money.” “Lest anyone try to say I am against minority rights,” she continued, “forget it. My life has been spent in supporting the rights of groups that have suffered from discrimination – economic, ethnic, religious and others.” Hitchcock then went on to suggest an alternative solution, that being Maricopa Tech might expand to serve the needs of South Phoenix. Other parts of the county, she pushed, would benefit more from expansion and new campuses, like her neighborhoods of “Cave Creek, Carefree, and Fountain Hills.” “Citizens of these above named areas,” very few of whom were minorities, “will have a just complaint if we confuse our priorities by spending an enormous amount of money in” the South Phoenix and Rio Salado areas. “My fear,” she cautioned, “is that railroading this resolution through this Board at this time will result in a backlash which will be detrimental to this South Phoenix area.” She predicted that the State Legislature and State Board would “rise up in holy horror” if a South Phoenix campus was approved. Hitchcock ended her soliloquy by proposing a motion to table. It failed 3-2.

Brooks reintroduced Motion No. 3903. There was some discussion about whether the State Board’s timeline made the motion even possible. Some conversation was had about moving Maricopa Tech further south. Several community members spoke on behalf of a full service college in South Phoenix, including State Senator Polly Getzwiller, State Representative Manuel Marin, Dr. G. B. Brooks of the NAACP, Carlos Gonzales of the Phoenix College MEChA chapter, Tom Martinez of Arizona State University’s MEChA chapter, Tom Espinosa of Chicanos Por La Causa, and Lawrence McHenry of NAACP. Max Tadlock produced an interim report focusing on South Phoenix. “He pointed out that the establishment of a full-service campus in this area would not be a cure-all for the ills of the South Phoenix community. He suggested that any campus established in South Phoenix should be organized in such a way so that it assumed the leadership in community renewal.” “It would not,” he warned, “be an easy project to accomplish.” He predicted some problems, including “withdrawal of FTSE from other campuses” and the assumption that renewal would be automatic.[3] Upon hearing this, Board Member Martinez proposed to amend the name to South Mountain Community College, which passed 3-0. At that point, the District Board voted on the campus itself. South Mountain Community College was approved by the District Board, 3-2. Martinez, Robertson, and Brooks voted aye. Farnsworth and Hitchcock voted nay.

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#5: “Alfredo, you got the votes.”

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#6: State Board Meeting, March 18, 1979��“South Mountain Lite”

52 Miles Away

1979. SMCC Not Built Yet. (Image provided by South Mountain Community College, South Phoenix Oral History Project)

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#7: “The State Board was really shocked…”

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#8: A “Little Harvard” of South Phoenix

Architecture - Bennie Gonzales

Curriculum - Community Advisory Board

Cárdenas had high aspirations for the college in South Phoenix. “We wanted it to be a little Harvard,” he remembered. This commitment to academic rigor and liberal arts at the new college was a testament to Cárdenas’ vision, but more importantly it was a direct result of community involvement. As soon as the district board approved the new campus, the original advocates—Morris and McClain—joined the president’s community advisory council and began jockeying to influence the curriculum.

A campus location site was selected when the Heard Corporation sold over 100 acres of farmland at Vineyard and 24th Street to the District. But, as construction began, the state and district boards still caused problems. The South Mountain Lite plan had done some damage, and funding was limited to only five buildings. Of those five buildings, one could be a gym and fitness center, but the rest would be built as “temporary construction.”

Elsner, de los Santos, and Cárdenas responded by recruiting famed architect and local hero Bennie Gonzales to oversee the design and construction. Under Gonzales’s guidance, drawings for the temporary buildings transformed into historic re-creations of ancient adobe structures, iconic to the Southwest and Arizona. It was as though the blueprints were issuing a challenge: “Try tearing this down.”

Over the next year, Cárdenas launched a full curriculum, offered dozens of weekend and night classes, and recruited almost eight hundred students, all while overseeing construction. Classes started in the fall of 1979. Students attended classes at various locations, including Holy Family Catholic Parish, at nearby elementary schools, and at South Mountain High School. As the 1970s came to a close, the future looked bright for South Mountain Community College. The Phoenix Gazette called Cárdenas “as proud as a man could be about dirt and weeds.”

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#9: Education on Their Own Terms

1979. Oct31. PhxGazette. College blends function with beauty. (Image provided by South Mountain Community College, South Phoenix Oral History Project.)

1981. May15. PhoenixGazette. 1st Graduation (Image provided by South Mountain Community College, South Phoenix Oral History Project.)

On May 20, 1981, three students became the first graduates of South Mountain Community College, and Cárdenas was eager to celebrate “the joy of this historical moment in our community.” The happy occasion marked a series of successes for South Phoenix.

First, the college represented a community-wide initiative coming to fruition.
Second, it pointed to the potential of education in an impoverished area and,
Finally, the degrees themselves—general studies and art—proved to South Phoenix that their students would not have to sacrifice liberal and fine arts programs and be pigeon-holed into workforce and trades fields. They could pursue education on their own terms. “Grassroots support and the efforts of dedicated students have made South Mountain Community College a success,” reported the Arizona Republic. Patti Clarke and Karen L. Henderson earned associate’s degrees in general studies, while Lawrence Eugene Jack earned an associate’s in arts. Graduating three students might not have seemed all that significant to other colleges, but to the people of South Phoenix, it was a symbol of great things to come.

Finally, the campus was finished. Take a look at the map: Bennie Gonzales had built the campus on an angle, facing the South Mountains and the Western Canal. To the west, the palm trees left behind by the Heard Corporation remained, as they would for the next forty years. Gonzales' innovative and “temporary” buildings were a direct challenge to anyone who hoped to easily tear down the campus in the coming years. His designs included Native American-inspired references like adobe structures, much like his other famed work in all corners of the Valley. He incorporated these adobe structures throughout the campus, connecting the area’s Indigenous history to the campus’ educational future.

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#10: Decades Later

Campus opens Aug 25, 1981

A legacy of activism

The unwritten, but not untold stories

N.d. Richard Morales, Tony Braccamonte, Dolly Aguirre. (Image provided by South Mountain Community College, South Phoenix Oral History Project.)

After years of hard work on the part of leaders, educators, and community members, South Phoenix finally boasted a community college. In August 1981, Dr. Raul Cárdenas beamed with pride as he greeted newcomers on that first day of school. He shook hands with students, introduced himself, and welcomed them to the SMCC. A young, tall African American man approached him from the parking lot, serious and studious, but with an air of joy and enthusiasm about him. Cárdenas did not recognize the man, but he greeted him warmly. “Welcome!” he exclaimed, introducing himself. “Can I help you find your first class?” The young man was Jerome Garrison, the campus’ new adjunct music teacher, and Cárdenas had mistaken him for a student. Over the course of the next forty years, Jerome Garrison would earn his doctorate, launch SMCC’s rich music program, create a massive student scholarship fund, oversee the design of an award-winning performing arts complex, and become a nationally recognized educator. He would do all of this while teaching at South Mountain Community College.

For years this young music teacher was asked questions like, “there’s a college down there?” or, “Why would anyone live down there?” Over time, Garrison grew tired of outsiders referring to his college “down there.” “I finally got tired of hearing that,” he remembered. “I started saying, “I’m not down anywhere! I’m up on the mountain! I’m up here! You can come see for yourself.”

Stories like Garrison’s bring the histories of South Mountain Community College and South Phoenix full circle. On this small college campus in a historically disenfranchised corner of a giant metropolis, people like Raul Cárdenas, and dozens more spent years working to fulfill the promises South Mountain Community College made to South Phoenix. Some, like Jerome Garrison, dedicated their entire careers to the effort. These stories are more than anecdotes of individuals, however. Faculty and students at local campuses around the country are striving to fulfill the promises made by higher education every day. Sometimes in surprising ways.

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Conclusion: Origins of The South Phoenix Oral History Project

Nearly forty years after the college opened, a group of twelve students launched the South Phoenix Oral History Project. These students were enrolled in my HIS 105: Arizona History, and I tasked them with selecting a shared class research topic. The assignment was simple. They were to agree upon a single topic about Arizona history that was relevant to everyone in the class. They chose to study their own community: South Phoenix. I was happy with their choice to stay close to home. Within a few weeks, however, it became apparent that their topic presented challenges.

It was 2017. How hard could it be to start researching a community in a humongous western city? I remember being an enterprising PhD student at UNLV and wishing I could only stumble upon a local history with national significance that hadn’t been told yet. Oh, only then I could make my mark on the field! Careful what you wish for.

There was practically nothing on the history of South Phoenix. We recruited a research librarian who spent nearly two weeks conducting background searches that proved futile. We reached out to public and research libraries and the state archives to no avail.

I called the class together and offered to let them rethink their project. They rejected my suggestion. One student said, “If we don’t tell this history, who will?” Ever the enterprising community members of South Phoenix, they felt obligated to respond to this dearth of research in an innovative way. They proposed that they spend the semester interviewing people about South Phoenix, collecting digital and physical materials, and starting an archive to be housed at our own campus. The students wrote the foundational sentences which ultimately became our mission statement: “South Phoenix Oral History Project is a student-founded, student-led initiative to capture and preserve the untold stories of innovation, education, and equity in South Phoenix, Arizona.”

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Mission and Priorities

Mission: “A student-led initiative to capture and preserve the history of South Phoenix and South Mountain Community College”

Priorities:

Inclusively reclaim and accurately retell the ignored history of South Phoenix
Curate and preserve historical materials for students and community access
Emphasize shared authority among campus and community

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Status: Completed

200+ Students
80+ narrators, most profiles can be found at https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/narrators/
Nearly 300 hours of recorded interviews
50 Years of documents archived and indexed
Documentary, historic campus walking tour, website, podcast.
First academic article about the history of South Phoenix (SMCC’s origins) Spring 2022.

Since then, nearly two hundred students have contributed to the project. More than eighty narrators have been interviewed for oral histories, most conducted by students. We launched a website, southphoenixoralhistory.com, wrote a documentary about the foundations of SMCC, and began processing forty years of newspaper accounts, photographs, marketing documents, and other artifacts for our physical manuscript collection to be housed at the South Mountain Community Library.

Community college students, arguably the most disenfranchised in the Valley, and those attending a college “down there” that was once discounted as unnecessary, are effectively writing the history of one of Phoenix’s oldest and most diverse areas. A few years ago, I asked a student if she learned anything about researching her own neighborhood. She smiled at me and said, “Until now, I had no idea South Phoenix even mattered.”

In 2021, South Mountain Community College was poised to celebrate its fortieth anniversary. Of course, a global pandemic interrupted our birthday celebrations. But work continued. This article and tonight’s talk are both products of the endeavor. I’ve listed above some of our other pet projects, including our in-library archive which is slated for a grand opening at the South Mountain Community Library early spring 2023, and our historic walking tour of our campus. You can find out more about these initiatives at southphoenixoralhistory.com.

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“It’s Time for Us”

Student-led. �Student-driven. Student-researched. Student-published. Student-sustaining.

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Status: Continuing and Future Work

In Progress

Preservation of SPhx history despite gentrification
Oral history interviews
Community archive collection and processing
Driving tour of South Phoenix
Ongoing scholarship:

Full-length manuscript book on the history of South Phoenix
Student-Centered Oral History, (Routledge Press)

Long Term

Museum or reading room
Community Archive and Special Collection at SMCL (Spring 2023)
Increased appreciation for history of South Phoenix
Community Engagement
Campus Buy-in

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Student Reactions

Cassidy Randless, �Spring 2023��Interviewed Mr. Ed McCartney

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How Can You Help: �Please tell us about South Phoenix!

Where is South Phoenix?

Help Define the Boundaries: https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/2021/11/04/complete-our-survey-where-is-south-phoenix/ �

Tell Your Story

Tell Your Story: Share your memories in an interview with our students and/or faculty. Email Summer.Cherland@southmountaincc.edu for more information�

Share Materials

Donate Materials (newspapers, photographs, manuscripts documenting your experiences living and working in South Phoenix)

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References

Cherland, Summer. "A College “Down There”: Resistance, Community Control, and Higher Education in South Phoenix, 1977–1981." Journal of Arizona History, vol. 63 no. 1, 2022, p. 35-73. Project MUSE https://muse.jhu.edu/article/852647.

“SOUTH PHOENIX AND SMCC MEMORIES,” South Phoenix Oral History. https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/narrators/

“HUMBLE ORIGINS HEROIC LEGACY: Celebrating Forty Years of South Mountain Community College.” Directed by Travis May, South Phoenix Oral History Project. (2019). https://southphoenixoralhistory.com/2021/01/27/humble-origins-heroic-legacy/

Ele, Anedda., ““I Hope to be Part of South Phoenix History”: Community College Students Becoming Oral Historians.” Oral History Review (Forthcoming, Spring 2023).

Images:

https://www.historicalleague.org/historymakers/alfredo-gutierrez