[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE LEADERSHIP AND ACTIVISM OF LESLIE DIANE HIATT

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                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 2017

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, as we observe American Education 
Week, I rise today to recognize Leslie Diane Hiatt, a remarkable 
teacher and social activist in my 40th Congressional District of 
California. As a teacher at Bell Gardens Elementary in the Montebello 
Unified School District, Ms. Hiatt has inspired her students to act on 
injustices in their community and in the world overall.
  Born in Whittier, California, on December 10, 1960, to James and Jean 
Hiatt, Ms. Hiatt was raised in a loving family that encouraged activism 
and equality. From a young age, her commitment to social justice and 
service to her community was apparent. In high school, where she 
organized the first girls' track team, she often spent her lunch break 
at the local elementary school organizing intramural sports for the 
younger students. She also spent her free time writing letters to 
politicians about air pollution and the Vietnam War, trying to right 
the wrongs of the world. In 1979, Leslie graduated from Monte Vista 
High School in Whittier, and went on to attend the University of 
Southern California, from which she graduated in 1983.
  Subsequently, Leslie started her teaching career at Bell Gardens 
Elementary School In 1988, she pursued her Master of Arts at California 
State University, Fullerton. She also received a Math Authorization 
from Center X at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2001.
  Throughout her 34-year career as an educator, Ms. Hiatt has worked 
with immigrant and Latino communities. This has positioned her 
perfectly to help inspire students to believe they cannot be 
bystanders, and that in order to bring change in the world, they must 
use their voice to speak up about injustices. To encourage these 
conversations, she has her students write letters to government 
representatives and emphasizes the importance of persistence and 
collaboration. These experiences have empowered her students. Here are 
some of their particularly important efforts over the years.
  In 1989, one of Ms. Hiatt's classes refused to have grapes from the 
school cafeteria after learning about the United Farm Workers movement 
and the dangers that grape workers faced as they were being exposed to 
pesticides. As a result of the ongoing struggle of grape workers, her 
students wrote letters to their school board, and after a lengthy 
debate, the district honored the grape boycott. The students' actions 
later received attention from labor leader Cesar Chavez.
  In 2015, as her students learned about the history of immigration in 
California and the unconstitutional ``Mexican Repatriation'' 
deportations of the 1930s, her students were dismayed at the complete 
absence of information on the deportations in their history textbooks. 
They were also astounded to know that there has never been a federal 
apology for those 1930s deportations, which expelled over 1.2 million 
United States citizens and over two million Mexican nationals who were 
legally living in the United States. After drafting a letter to 
President Obama asking for a federal apology for the Mexican 
Repatriation of the 1930s, the students entered State Assemblywoman 
Cristina Garcia's ``There Ought to Be a Law'' contest. Their goal was 
to have California recognize the history of the Mexican Repatriation 
and include it in California history textbooks. As winners of the 
contest, Ms. Hiatt's students traveled to Sacramento to testify in 
support of the bill, and in the fall of 2015, Governor Brown signed the 
bill, AB 146, into law.
  Later that same year, Ms. Hiatt's students wrote to me asking for my 
help in obtaining a federal apology for the unconstitutional 
deportations. In 2016 and 2017, I introduced H.R. 6314 and H.R. 1412, 
respectively, which would establish a committee to officially study the 
Mexican Repatriation and to recommend appropriate remedies.
  To this day, Ms. Hiatt's students continue to speak up and take 
action on pressing world events. They have focused on such subjects as 
the Lakota Tribe in North Dakota, Hurricane Harvey, and the earthquake 
in Mexico City.
  When Ms. Hiatt isn't teaching her classes and working with her 
students to implement new legislation, she also co-teaches the STEM 
Club at Bell Gardens Elementary, and helps organize the school's annual 
science fair. She is also currently taking science education classes at 
California State University, Long Beach, to learn more about science 
content and pedagogy, and she is a member of the university's 
Elementary Science Learning Academy program.
  Ms. Hiatt has the infinite love and support of her husband, Francisco 
Lopez, and her son, Joaquin Lopez, whose encouragement inspires her to 
continue her work as a passionate educator.
  Ms. Hiatt has shown exemplary dedication to children and families in 
my 40th Congressional District, and I am pleased to recognize her work 
as an educator and leader. I hope my colleagues will join me in 
recognizing her tremendous activism, her commitment to social justice, 
and her determination to empower and develop a new generation of 
conscientious and compassionate activists.

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