L.A. Fundraiser and Church of the Epiphany

UFWOC volunteers and organizers are celebrating after working all day collecting donations at the Church of the Epiphany in Lincoln Heights. Los Angeles, California, November 1966. Photo by Emmon Clarke.

In November, farmworkers, organizers, and volunteers were part of a delegation of 150 strikers that traveled from the fields to Los Angeles to collect contributions from trade unionists. Money collections were set up at the gates of more than 20 factories around the city. During the day in Los Angeles, strikers stayed at the Church of Father Luce while Susie Villalobos provided the food. According to the newspaper El Malcriado, on that day strikers were able to collect $5,200 for the Farm Workers Defense Fund. Father John Luce (1930-2012) served as Rector of the Church of the Epiphany from 1965 to 1973 and he often invited César Chávez to preach from the pulpit and to give organizing workshops whenever he was around. He was brought in to improve the relationship between the Church of the Epiphany and the Mexican American neighborhood. He immediately made visible changes, like decorating the church with papel picado and culturally relevant banners. He commissioned Chicana/o artists to reimagine the Episcopalian art, began celebrating Día de Muertos, and erected a large portrait of La Virgen de Guadalupe by the main altar. He hired local Chicana/o artists to reimagine the religious motifs, to paint their skin from pinkish to brown.

UFWOC volunteers counting money, Los Angeles, CA, 1966

A group of UFWOC volunteers are counting money after a donation event in Los Angeles. There are women, men, and children (the child on the left is Delbreta Billingsley, daughter of a DiGiorgio worker from Arvin) and they are standing around a table counting coins and bills stacked next to empty buckets. Los Angeles, California, November 1966. Photo by Emmon Clarke.

Father John Luce at the Church of the Epiphany, Los Angeles, CA, 1966

Father John Luce at the Church of the Epiphany in Lincoln Heights celebrates mass for UFWOC farmworkers, organizers, and volunteers that were part of a delegation of 150 strikers that traveled from the fields to Los Angeles to collect contributions from trade unionists. Money collections were set up at the gates of more than 20 factories around the city. Los Angeles, California, November 1966. Photo by Emmon Clarke.

Dilbreta Billingsley stands on a sidewalk in front of the Goodyear Rubber Company, Los Angeles, CA, 1966

Delbreta Billingsley, daughter of a DiGiorgio worker from Arvin, is standing on a sidewalk holding a bucket. A woman with a poster is holding her hand. The poster reads “On strike for 14 months. Farmworkers ask your help. UFWOC AFL-CIO.” They are standing in front of the Goodyear Rubber Company, located at 6701 South Central Avenue. Los Angeles, California, November 1966. Photo by Emmon Clarke.

Child collecting donations in front of the Goodyear Rubber Company, Los Angeles, CA, 1966

A child is collecting donations in front of the Goodyear Rubber Company, located at 6701 South Central Avenue. Los Angeles, California, November 1966. Photo by Emmon Clarke.

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