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In 2019, a memorial sculpture for Los Seis was created by Jasmine Baetz and
community participants and installed at CU Boulder. The second sculpture,
shown at right, was installed this year at the corner of 17th Street and Pearl in
Boulder, titled “El Movimiento Sigue” (The Movement Continues).

Uplifting the next generation of student leaders and Los Seis history

Scarlett* will not forget the moving stories Chicano elders shared at a march in May marking 50 years since the tragic deaths of “Los Seis de Boulder.” Organized by CU Boulder students, the march ended next to a newly installed sculpture in Boulder called “El Movimiento Sigue” (The Movement Continues). The sculpture pays respect to a local fight against oppressive systems and the Chicano rights movement, including Los Seis, the six young student activists who were killed in car bombings in 1974: Neva Romero, Una Jaakola, Reyes Martínez, Florencio Granado, Heriberto Terán and Francisco Dougherty.

In the 1970s, Los Seis and their contemporaries built a supportive community for Chicano students in CU Boulder’s Temporary Building 1 (TB1), now the Ramirez Building. The studentorganized march offered a space to grieve Los Seis’ history and to honor the passion embedded in the movement.

“Neva’s roommate shared stories from TB1—reigniting memories from the movement and the community they had,” Scarlett said. “She shared the Chicano handshake and things they did to come together. She was inviting us as student organizers to continue the work.”

Despite recent grassroot events and public art, Los Seis history is often unknown by the masses. Scarlett first learned about Los Seis in a Multicultural Leadership course held outside TB1. Learning the history further ignited her passion for advocacy— a commonality she shares with student activists from a half century ago.

“CU has a long history of student activism, and we want to continue that by preserving the history for future generations,” she said.  

Scarlett is not alone. Tania Hogan moved to Colorado as a high school student and attended CU Boulder as a first-year undergraduate. She did not learn of Los Seis until she returned as executive director of the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education in the School of Education.

“I was shocked that I had not learned about this critical event during my time as a student,” she said. “Why isn’t that history taught on our campus more widely?”

Hogan is now part of a committee of community volunteers who worked together to establish the BUENO Center’s new Los Seis Memorial Scholarship.

Beginning this year, the endowed fund awards six $1,000 scholarships, each in the name of a member of Los Seis. Fundraising continues, with the goal of eventually awarding six $5,000 annual scholarships for students with majors and interests that align with Los Seis—from Reyes Martínez, the attorney, to Heriberto Terán, the poet.

Scarlett is the inaugural recipient of the Los Seis Memorial Scholarship in honor of Neva Romero. Like Romero, Scarlett is studying education, and she is interested in equity and justice for marginalized communities. She is active in UMAS y Mecha, a student group at CU Boulder established by Chicano leaders in the 1970s that has expanded to include cultural backgrounds like her Salvadoran roots.

She is humbled by the parallels between her work today and her scholarship’s namesake. Romero never got to become the teacher she aspired to be, which is a heavy reality for Scarlett.

“It’s sad hearing about all the things that Neva would have done,” said Scarlett, wiping away tears.

“I feel like even putting Neva’s name next to mine is a huge honor. At the same time, it’s a lot (to carry), because of how important she is to me and because of what she stood for.”

The scholarship helps alleviate some financial burden, but ultimately, Scarlett’s community is her essential support system. Together, they are carrying the torch for equity in education.

“There are things that have changed at the university, and there are things that we need to continue to change,” Scarlett said. “There’s a lot of work getting students of color here and that’s super important. And we want safer spaces for students of color once they are here to feel like they belong.”

*Out of respect for privacy, we’ve removed the student’s last name. 

 

Tanya Hogan at the Los Seis memorial sculpture on campus