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Herman Sillas Jr. Honoring a Wise Man on Dia de Los Reyes
A view from a different pier, my perspective. By Ruben Alvarez Jr.
Depending on your denomination, there are a few interpretations of the 3 Kings who visited the Christ child on the evening of his birth. Would have been a little crowded with the little drummer boy and all. I was taught at an early age about the 3 Wise-men who visited him on January 6th not on Christmas Eve like modern retelling of the legends are told. But they are still in the psyche of the general birth of Jesus Christ one cold night and foreboding circumstances of a government census. Which leaves me saying that you can be a King and not wise. And conversely, we are mostly wise men (people) and not Kings. A wise man passed away last November and will be honored on the day we honor wise men.
Herman Sillas, Jr. is not a household name for most people. But we all bask in the light of his vision and dedication to the Mexican-American people of the southwest. Chicanoism at its finest, this humble, quiet, intelligent artist, writer, and fighter was a person to look up to, I know I certainly did. You all know I come from an activist family. We were taught to fight for what is right and sometimes you gotta speak up and get into good trouble, especially for the ones who cannot. Mr. Sillas did that in spades. He took on the LAUSD institution and helped change the entire education system in his wake. Let’s say that his wake woke a lot of people.
He left us on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, at the age of 89 years. A life full of accomplishments and art both written and painted of which my friend Elizabeth Eggli owns an original which makes me jelly. But I do own his autographed book A View from the Pier that swept the International Latino Book Awards in 2015 with an unprecedented 4 different category wins.
Although I knew that he was the first Latino DMV director appointed by Jerry Brown in his first term in the late 70’s. Me being the aspiring political scientist, I was deeply proud of this appointment and read everything about him and his involvement with the Los Angeles School Walkouts for equal education. If you want to play catch up watch Walkout streaming online starring Michel Pena as LAUSD Teacher Sal Castro. And an aspiring Moctezuma Esparza was also part of that mix and produced the movie Walkout. Worth watching to see the historical context of which the Walkouts were all about. But the story really gets going as the power system pressed charges against Sal Castro (played by Michael Pena). And it was Herman Sillas who represented him and cleared him of charges. Herman’s law office was firebombed and still an unsolved case.
With all of his awards and accomplishments were always outshined by his beloved Cora Sillas – with whom he shared 65 years of marriage, devoted love, and partnership - along with 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. All of which he was proud of.
I first met Herman at the Libreria Martinez Books and Art Gallery at the Broadway incarnation in Downtown Santa Ana. It was a book signing and a painting showcase. And man oh man did he go and described the fundamental question of who we are. Americans that have been on the continent for over 10,000 years and still have outsider status. And in that status, we often not given the opportunities that the privileged or elite in our society that by the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees, for all. He was a trailblazer no doubt. And in meeting him I felt the closest to a wise man that I had met in quite a while. Before that was Ambassador Julian Nava and Jorge Ramos, stories for another day. They are people who get the plight and the fight for equality across the land. I got to hear his poetry, much different than just reading it as it was more of a performance art by him. And I heard it and felt it. The description of his painting of the Chicano dilemma or challenges that many stand to this day. His 1964 acclaimed painting, “Mexican American,“ depicted the identity crisis facing Mexican Americans in one painting he encapsulated the plight of 500 years of colonization for the indigenous peoples of the North and South Continents of America. At another event at Libreria Martinez, he brought his painting gear and painted live during the reception. He was in his zone.
He also talked about the 4 Steps of the development of Chicanismo
1. The discovery of the big lie. We are all supposed to be equal but are not.
2. Anger- How dare they do this to me, do they think I am stupid?
3. Identity- Who am I and how do I really fit in?
4. So what? What are you going to do? Who are you going to help knowing who you are? Or are you gonna help anybody knowing who you are?
Herman graduated from the UCLA and then attended UCLA School of Law in 1958, which if you take that time to contemplate the world of law he worked in, (no firm would hire him in Los Angeles) it is amazing and showed that he was more than the Chancla he once proclaimed to an elementary school teacher when asked to name something with the letter C. That does not count as a word was the curt response. Well tell that to my mom cuz sure knows how to use one I imagined him telling his teacher. Thus opening a fisher in his developing mind that Spanish was not a language and that he was part of a culture that has been forcibly colonized exploited and controlled. One day we are Tongva and Yaqui, the next we are owned by Spain, then Mexico, then the United States. If you didn’t get with the program, you were eliminated from the landscape. The promise of the Constitution still had to be fought for and he did just that.
Herman’s life was full of accomplishments and provided much leadership to all of the organizations with his keen wit and knowledge of the law was instrumental for that next step in evolution of the modern Chicano and all of its manifestations. The young upstarts we have around now a days could have used a lesson or two from him that is for sure. They are inheriting the rolls of power and have no idea on what it took to get them there.
He was the first Latino Director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles by Governor Jerry Brown, Jr. (1975 – 1978), As I heard him say in a conversation “we were there to make a difference” And he did as he promoted minorities and women in the system.
Herman was appointed as the United States Attorney by former President Jimmy Carter (North-Eastern District of California 1978-1980), he served America proudly by standing up for civil rights of all.
He was founding member of the legendary and successful Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund MALDEF and the Mexican American Bar Association
Sillas served as the official Legal Counsel to the California Association of Bilingual Educators, “Americans have done this unique thing they have tied language to patriotism if you don't speak English then you're not a patriot unless we want to draft you to go fight a war then you're a patriot.” Referring to the military mandatory drafts for soldiers to fight in Korea and then Vietnam.
Sillas was also the Chairman of the State of California Committee for the National Civil Rights Commission.
Herman award-winning artist he started painting as a youth to project his perception of the world around him and the incredible ability to transcend established society dogmas and translate into an image that is striking to this day. He even had a scholarship for Art School but opted for a college education instead and majored in Political Science. When he graduated he decided to Law School but was afraid of not getting a continued deferment by the government for educational reasons. The local draft board person he talked to said don’t worry about it. We always meet our quota as minorities signed up everyday to get out of their circumstances in South Los Angeles where the Watts Riots were brewing.
He was a proud recipient of four 2015 International Latino Book Awards for his book, View from the Pier, and a sought-after speaker on the Chicano Movement.
Now all we have left is his powerful thoughts in his writing and poetry, beautiful paintings, and an indelible memory of a truly wise man.
Herman was a loyal reader of Stay Connected OC and that is something that I am really proud of. “you got something there kid, keep at it” he once told me.
His family stated that he was a faithful servant to God, and we thank you for the outpouring of love and support to our family.
I may not got all the details exactly right. And there is even more to his story and only scratched the surface. But that is what wisdom is. Wisdom is the lens of a multifaceted well lived life. Life base on experiences. I may never be as wise as him. But that does not keep me from trying.
Rest in peace my friend.
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