Oral history interview, Eleanor Montour, 2013 (video and transcript)

Eleanor Montour, born in 1944, is a life-long resident of Lafayette, Colorado. Her mother, Alicia Sanchez, founded Clinica Campesina in Lafayette; Eleanor is currently still a member of the board of the Clinica Campesina. She describes her large extended family; her grandparents had five children and raised eight orphaned nieces and nephews. Her grandfather came from Mexico to work in the fields; her father worked in fields and in coal mines. He was active in the union, and both parents in the Democratic Party. She describes her own work in the fields as a child and her integrated neighborhood—Italians and Mexicans—in Lafayette but racism and discrimination at school in junior and senior high school. Gives examples of her mother’s strength of character, resistance to racism. She describes in detail why her mother started Clinica Campesina, and her own involvement with the community, including the Senior Center. Talks about racism and the forms it has taken, and the improved opportunities for Latinos.