187: The Rise of the Latino Vote

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published September 23, 2022 at 3:55 PM PDT

March Against Prop 187 in Fresno California 1994 — March Against Prop 187 in Fresno, California 1994 / website

Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / On demand with PBS Video App

The documentary chronicles Proposition 187, a California ballot measure passed in 1994 that sought to deny public services to undocumented immigrants. While the initiative was meant to keep the “immigrant threat” at bay, it mobilized non-immigrants and immigrants in Latino communities as well as their allies across the state.

The documentary chronicles Proposition 187, a California ballot measure passed in 1994 that sought to deny public services to undocumented immigrants.

The political awakening of this powerful group would dramatically change the state’s electoral politics, transforming the state into a Blue and progressive state for the first time. Proposition 187 created new and enduring political faultlines across California and across the nation as well as molded the political careers of a new generation of leaders.

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On the day of the march against Prop 187 in Los Angeles, Cristina Vasquez was on stage, getting ready to introduce some of the labor leaders that attended the event and expecting at most about 5,000 people to show up. She was surprised and amazed to see a lot, lot more. Vasquez talks about that memorable march and the union movement.

Watch a pivotal moment in California history unfold through more than 20 interviews with major political figures, artists and thinkers from across the state including:

California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo
Former California State Senator and current LA City Councilmember Gil Cedillo
Former California State senate President pro tempore Kevin de León
Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF) president Thomas Saenz
California State Assembly speaker emeritus Fabian Núñez
The first Latina in history to be elected to the California State Legislature Gloria Molina
Former California State Senate Majority leader and member of the California State Assembly Richard Polanco
and more...

At the time of Proposition 187, Fabian Núñez was a 27-year-old organizer making little money at a nonprofit called One Stop Immigration in the eastside of Los Angeles. Fast forward 25 years, Núñez has held one of the most powerful public positions in the State of California (Assembly Speaker) and left a mark in state policy.

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“There´s really been no successful social or political movement that didn´t have the arts as a foundation for sharpening and circulating its message,” says Chon Noriega. Those pushing Prop 187, he says painted immigrants as taking away jobs, money, public services from citizens. Artists showed immigrants to be contributors to the economy, people who belong here and have a voice.

Producer: KCET / Directed by Dignicraft film and art collective

187: The Rise of the Latino Vote

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