Challenging Narratives Through History Research: SBS Outstanding Undergraduate Research Awardee Daniel Cervantes, ‘24

Daniel Cervantes — a Hispanic Scholarship Foundation Scholar who is graduating with a major in History, a minor in Computer Science, and a cumulative 3.8 GPA — is the recipient of the SBS Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award for winter 2024. This award recognizes a graduating senior in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences who has demonstrated academic achievement, originality, and creativity in an independent undergraduate research project.

For his senior capstone research project, Daniel focused on the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising (often referred to as the LA Riots), aiming to challenge the dominant narrative that frames the event as primarily driven by tensions involving gangs and Korean-Black divisions. He explores how Latine and White Angelenos also contributed to the looting, had their own grievances, and experienced social tensions. 

Daniel’s work also examined how the same government neglect that had fueled discontent in working-class communities before 1992 also played a significant role in shaping the post-uprising response.

"Researching the 1992 LA Uprising was always an attractive prospect to me. My family has called Los Angeles home for many years, and I could not pass up the chance to discuss a relatively recent but pivotal part of the city's history,” said Daniel. “Much of my time was spent reading pages of newspapers and watching archival footage, seeing how even the smallest connections were made, and enjoying every new artifact I could examine. At some points, it was almost overwhelming with how much there was available to analyze, but in the end, I was able to put forth a work I can be proud of.”

Daniel added, “The support of my professor, Dr. Erika Perez, was invaluable in producing the most thorough work I could, especially when it came to hints as to where to dig next."  
  
The senior capstone wasn’t the only class where Daniel impressed faculty with his abilities. 

“I had remarkable good fortune when Daniel Cervantes enrolled in my new course this fall. A senior history major in his last semester, Daniel was intrigued by the opportunity to work alongside a local community museum, the African American Museum of Southern Arizona," said Katherine Morrissey, professor and head of the Department of History. "Daniel stood out from the start. His sophisticated questions, collegial conversational style, as well as his superb research and writing skills are at the highest level.”

In addition to his meticulous research, Daniel also engaged significantly outside the classroom. He served as a peer mentor for the Thrive Center on campus for three years, worked at the campus radio station, hosted a radio show, and worked as a play-by-play broadcaster on Meridix for the Tucson Saguaros baseball club.

Daniel’s future holds plenty of options, but no matter the path, he aims to keep history front and center. He will return to California and decide on his post-graduation plans. Regardless, he says history will be front and center. 

"Whether that adventure is in the archives of a museum, the broadcast booth of a baseball stadium, a classroom, or somewhere in between, I'm excited to see where life takes me," said Daniel. "Either way, I aim to keep learning and involving myself in the realm of history. There is much left to learn, and I can't wait to begin."
 

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