History of the MALCS National Organization

Chicana/Latina women were an integral part of the activities collectively recognized as the Chicano Movimiento, most active and visible from 1964 to 1975. By the early 1980's their contributions were barely acknowledged. Sensing this collective loss of voice, feeling highly isolated, eager to extend their knowledge to other women, and desiring to change society's perceptions, a group of Chicana/Latina academic women gathered at the University of California, Davis, in spring 1982. Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS) was established at this first meeting. The MALCS declaration, written one year later at the Berkeley campus, formally established the organization and affirmed the membership's dedication to the unification of their academic life with their community activism.

--Adalijza Sosa-Riddell
Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History
(http://malcs.net/history.htm)