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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) -- UC Riverside Ethnic Studies Professor Armando Navarro has traveled to Denver, Colo. as one of six people receiving a Cinco de Mayo Civil Rights Awards at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, June 30.

The awards are organized annually by New West Side Economic Development (NEWSED), founded in 1973 to increase the economic and political development of the residents of west Denver.

“The Cinco de Mayo Civil Rights Awards offer thanks to those who have tirelessly served the cause of civil rights,” said LeRoy Lemos, director of the event. He said Prof. Navarro stood out because he builds a bridge between theory and practice, and he helped organize recent demonstrations demanding justice for undocumented immigrants.

Navarro said he is glad to accept the award. “It is recognition for what we do in support of social justice and human rights,” he said. “I’m just one of many people working in this area.”

Navarro is the author of "Mexican American Youth Organization: Avant-Garde of the Chicano Movement in Texas" published by the University of Texas Press (1995); "The Cristal Experiment: A Chicano Struggle for Community Control" published by the University of Wisconsin (1998); "La Raza Unida Party: A Chicano Challenge to the U.S. Two Party Dictatorship,” by Temple University Press (2000); and Mexicano Political Experience in Occupied Atzlan, from AltaMira Press (2005). He has gained national and international recognition in community organizing and advocacy for social justice issues affecting Latinos in the U.S.

The five other recipients of the award are entrepreneur Tim Gill; the late Francisco “Paco” Sanchez, who served in the House of Representatives before his death in 1973; Dusti Garrison Gurule, director of the Latina Initiative; public servant Carlos Guerra; and police officer and homeless advocate Eddie Valerio.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

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