Frank del Olmo : The History That Repeats Itself
Frank Del Olmo was a pioneer for immigration rights and a powerful voice for the Latino community. Rooted from humble beginnings, he was born in Pacoima and was raised in the projects. He transferred to California State University, Northridge in 1978 and left his mark on the school forever. He worked for the CSUN newspaper before eventually becoming a columnist and then an associate editor for the LA times. His articles were intriguing, and made people want to get more involved within the community especially students.
Issues of immigration, equality and social justice reform would’ve never reached the surface had it not been for Olmo. He covered mass demonstrations, protests, sit-ins and even monumental walk outs that our students are still doing today. His style of reporting was one of kind and unlike many. His work was original yet factual. Olmo shed light on the immigration reform targeting our Los Angeles Latino communities.
The ever-growing Los Angeles community could grow hope by reading Frank Olmo’s work because he covered issues that were so real for thousands of people. What I found most admirable about his reporting style was how dedicated he was to his people. He used his writing platform to speak on issues that affected Chicano’s directly. Olmo socially awakened a topic that we are still talking about almost 50 years later.
Olmo was a hero to people who thought their rights didn’t matter to anyone. In his archives, students who still attend CSUN can see all of his dedication through his handwritten notes, his word-choice. He let his readers know that social rights regarding his ethnic community was a united fight by writing things like “our struggle continues”. Olmo was indirectly personal yet professional and profound.
His passion for equality was endearing. When reading through his archives, I saw all the raw data he used to back up his point in his stories which was impressive considering the times they lived in during the 70's compared to the easy-google-access data we can find in seconds now. Being a journalist, it’s easy to lose track of notes but I was impressed by how intact all of us note-gathering was in the archives. One thing that sets him apart from other journalists is also his dedication. In one archive I found that Olmo went to a 2-day meeting in Los Angeles just to collect information about Civil Rights problems in Mexican-American communities.
Although Del Olmo passed away in 2004, his legacy will never die. In a time where immigration reform is at its peak, may we never forget what Del Olmo’s words meant to all of us. We will not stop fighting until justice is met.
