La Clínica de la Raza

In 1971, a group of UC Berkeley students alarmed by the lack of local, affordable health options formed La Clínica de la Raza (The Clinic of the People). The discrepancy between health care options for the affluent, primarily white classes and those for poorer, primarily BIPOC classes embodied one of the core inequalities underlying Civil Rights movements at the time. Much like the greater Civil Rights movement sweeping UC campuses and the nation, La Clínica took inspiration from Martin Luther King, Jr. and leaders of the Chicano Movement (El Movemiento) like Cesar Chavez. The students, backed by community members, declared "that every person deserves access to high-quality, culturally appropriate health care, regardless of their ability to pay." With this conviction in mind, they opened a storefront clinic, and La Clínica de la Raza was born. Since then, the operation has grown to 35 service sites throughout 3 counties.