Fela Salinas, Honored As The RHC Latinx Heritage Month 2023 Award Recipient For Her 1970 Educational Activisim Against Enrollment Discriminatory Barrier At UW-Milwaukee

Salinas was instrumental along other educational activists in the 1970's who are credited for eliminating the discriminatory barrier that kept Wisconsin and Milwaukee Latinos from enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

September 19, 2023

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Tuesday, the Roberto Hernandez Center (RHC) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) announced that Fela Salinas, is the 2023 RHC-LHM award recipient and will be honored on November 3rd with the Latinx Heritage Month (LHM) Award for her past educational activism and instrumental effort along with other Latino community educational activists that helped eliminate the discriminatory barrier in the 1970's that was practiced and kept Latinos/Hispanics from enrolling at UWM under then Chancellor J. Martin Klotsche at Chapman Hall. "Discriminatory treatment was the norm," cited from Myraid Magazine UWM 1990.

In 1970, there were only 14 Latino students enrolled at UWM, which the majority were from Latin and Central American countries compared to 25,000 Whites students. 

On August 27, 1970, the Latino community under the leadership of Jesus Salas, Roberto Hernandez, Armando Orellana and Ernesto Chacon staged a takeover and sit-in at Chancellor Klotsche's office in Chapman Hall to challenged the university's discriminatory policy that was practiced, and the community's demand for UWM to allow enrollment of Latinos.

Their success in 1970 higher educational movement helped create the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute (SSOI) at UWM, which focused on recruitement, advising and retention of Hispanic university students. The SSOI was later renamed in 1996, the Roberto Hernandez Center and since 1970 thousands of Hispanics have graduated from UWM.

Salinas along with hundreds educational activists participated in the UWM Chancellor Klotsche's office takeover and days that followed of protests until Klotsche finally agreed to allow Latinos to enroll at UWM.

According to LinkedIn, Salinas works as a Claims Representative for the Social Security Administration and is currently a volunteer entertainment coordinator for the popular 3-day Mexican Fiesta in Milwaukee.

In the academic year for 2021-2022, 512 Latinos graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, according to the RHC website.

Update: Highlights of the November 3, 2023, Roberto Hernández Center Latinx Heritage Month Award 2023 to recipient Fela Salinas. https://tinyurl.com/ycktfxf7

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