Building Bridges: Dr. Bianca N. Haro’s Senior Seminar Partners with Gente Organizada to Tackle Social Inequities in Pomona

Written by Adriana Flores Solis

Sociology Professor Dr. Bianca N. Haro has been serving students at Cal Poly Pomona for 3 years. Since she first entered the university in the Fall of 2022, Dr. Haro was excited to meet and learn from her students. Dr. Haro teaches a Senior Symposium titled “The Sociological Landscape of Pomona, California.” In this course, students analyze the history and culture of the City of Pomona. Students first explore the history of Pomona, particularly focusing on the Gabrielino-Tongva people who are the original caretakers of the land Cal Poly Pomona sits on today. Through assigned readings from the Special Collections and Archives at CPP, students examine the agricultural and industrial changes within the city, and a large portion of the class is dedicated to assessing the patterns of inequity and the social institutions that impact the lived experiences of Pomona residents. The main component of the course is the partnership with Gente Organizada, a community-led social action nonprofit organization in Pomona that is dedicated to organizing and building intergenerational power for youth and immigrant families. 

This partnership with Gente Organizada has allowed students to understand and identify the power structures that have created patterns of inequality for Indigenous, Latine, Black and all historically excluded people in Pomona. The work completed in this course prepares students for their future careers through the Learn by Doing experience being implemented.

Dr. Haro is a first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She said, “At a very young age, I understood the inequities faced by people who come from similar backgrounds.” Dr. Haro has been shaped by the various experiences she has had throughout her educational journey. To her, social justice and community organizing means making a conscious decision to fight for more than her individual success. “It is being in a constant state of anger because you are critically conscious of all the injustices in the world, but it is also searching for the joy that sustains humanity. It is this joy that helps us fight and dream of a better world,” she said. Dr. Haro is committed to fighting and learning alongside historically excluded people. 

Dr. Haro was first introduced to Gente Organizada back in 2020. She browsed the organization’s website and decided to visit their office in Downtown Pomona. Dr. Haro said, “I visited the space and was warmly welcomed by Jesus Sanchez, the Executive Director at the time (now Director of Economic Justice). He shared more about the City of Pomona, the organization’s history, and its current advocacy efforts. All of this resonated with my neighborhood, Southeast San Diego, and my eagerness to fight for social justice with and for the community.” Dr. Haro has worked with the organization on reports, campaigns, and advocacy efforts that led to resolutions and ordinances. 

The most recent collaboration that CPP students had with Gente Organizada was in the Fall of 2023. Students had the opportunity to contribute to the fruition of Gente’s 2023 Equity Report. The first step was gathering data from the Pomona Unified School District using the California School Dashboard. The information collected were student demographics, Lexile test scores, absenteeism, and funding received. After all the data had been collected, students analyzed and discussed their findings and possible solutions with Gente. The goal was to advocate and enhance the educational opportunities for Pomona Unified School District students. This work has led to students becoming active members of Gente Organizada and some have obtained paid internships. 

Recently, Gente Organizada released a documentary called “The Unheard Voices of Pomona-Toibinga,” which was a collaborative project created by six Gente Organizada youth members, their Director of Strategic Communications, and Dr. Haro who serves as the Humanities Advisor. The project, funded by California Humanities, began in February 2024 and was released in late August at the Gente Youth Center. The short documentary focuses on the Gabrielino-Tongva people in Pomona and the effects of colonization and misinformation. The film ultimately hopes to show viewers that Indigenous people are a part of our past, present, and future. 

“The Unheard Voices of Pomona-Toibinga” will be screened at CPP on October 16th, along with a Q & A panel with the youth who were part of the project. More details will be released soon. The film is also available on Gente Organizada’s Youtube Channel.