Remembering Professor Juan Gómez-Quiñones

Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones, leading scholar and activist in Chicana/o Studies, passed away on November 11, 2020. Gómez-Quiñones earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. at UCLA and was a Professor of History for almost 50 years. As the department remembers Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones, we invite you to read the following obituaries:

Column: Remembering Juan Gómez Quiñones, Chicano studies legend and professor to all of L.A. (written by Gustavo Arellano)

Gómez Quiñones lectured like an avalanche: a slow and steady rumble of facts that transformed into a cascade of lofty words. We all shut up and listened — and learned throughout the quarter.

In Memory of the Legendary Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones: Chicano Scholar, Educator, Activist, and Poet (written by Alvaro Huerta, Ph.D.)

For instance, when we organized a hunger strike at UCLA — one of the first, if not the first at UCLA and any other UC campus — in defense of undocumented immigrants (November 11–19, 1987), we knew that JGQ had our back. When we didn’t show up to class, he didn’t scold or hector us. He encouraged us, teaching us a key lesson that I pass on to my students and colleagues: knowledge comes from practice!