Bestselling author Julissa Natzely Arce Raya took the podium at the annual Center for Mexican American Studies Distinguished Lecture to talk about the collective experiences of Mexican Americans and how "our collective stories … extend beyond the border."
Arce Raya, a community advocate who uses her story to change the conversation around immigration, was named one of People en Español's 25 Most Powerful Women of 2017 and to the 2019 Women of the Year list by the city of Los Angeles.
"Learning Mexican American history really empowered me to know that I have roots in this country—and that this is also my country," she said. "History emboldens us and empowers us."
She is the author of "My (Underground) American Dream," "Someone Like Me" and "You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation" and is currently developing and executive producing a television series with America Ferrera. Arce Raya has received the Los Angeles Times' Latinos de Hoy Emerging Leader Award, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals' Vanguard Award and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Inspira Award, among others.
In her CMAS talk, "Reclaiming Our Latino History and Heritage," she weaved together her personal story with the larger story of Latino culture and history.
"My whole speech today could've been how I use to work on Wall Street while being undocumented," Arce Raya said. "Now I look at that time as just a footnote in my story, because I'd much rather not just tell you about my personal story, but also about our collective stories and how they extend before and beyond the border."
She told her audience that they "get to be historians of the history that is being made today."
"It's an important job," she said, "so that in 100 years people are not sitting in a room like we are today just finding out history for the first time."
