Father
Albert Braun believed that the Church should go to its people, and began constructing chapels in the southern and eastern sections of the Sacred Heart Parish, with the start of Santa Rita's construction on November 20, 1956, and completion in 1957. Beginning in the late 1960s, in correlation with the
civil rights movement, Santa Rita Hall became a focal point of the
Chicano Movement, particularly with the incorporation of
Chicanos Por La Causa at Santa Rita in April 1969. The Barrio Youth Project was the next movement to come out of Santa Rita, with a $2,000 pledge by Chicanos Por La Causa, an arrangement similar to the Southside Catholic Youth Center's support for the local Feria de las Flores. Valle del Sol was the last organization to come out of Santa Rita, catalyzed by a meeting held on December 3, 1970. These organizations organized the boycott against the
Phoenix Union High School District from October 9 - November 2, 1970, with 50 percent of student participation, which led to systemic changes to end the discrimination of
Mexican-Americans within the local school system. The fast was initiated due to the Arizona Legislature's House Bill 2134, which restricted the formation of bargaining units for collective bargaining. Many national figures traveled to Santa Rita in support of Chavez, such as Democratic Presidential Candidate
George McGovern,
Coretta Scott King, and
Joe and
Michael Kennedy, == References ==