In memoriam: Kent Wong
With great sadness, SPARC mourns the passing of Kent Wong, a visionary leader, educator, and unwavering advocate for labor and immigrant rights.
As a key founder of the UCLA Labor Center and a beloved professor for over two decades, Kent shaped generations of students and movements with his dedication, compassion, and deep belief in justice. His influence extended far beyond the classroom.
Kent championed the work of artist and activist Dr. Judy Baca, supporting her teaching and mural activism even in the face of threats, and helping connect her to his own mentor, Reverend James Lawson, a civil rights leader whose contributions are now memorialized in the newly expanded Great Wall of Los Angeles, particularly the section on 1960s sit-ins.
At the request of Maria Elena Durazo of the AFL-CIO, Kent worked closely with UCLA students from the UCLA@SPARC Digital/Mural Lab’s “Beyond the Mexican Mural” project under the direction of Dr. Judy Baca. With Kent’s support, SPARC created a monumental 18ft x 33ft digital mural, “Gente de la Maíz,” (2012), now permanently installed at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex cafeteria in Downtown Los Angeles—an enduring tribute to education, labor history and activism, sponsored by the Miguel Contreras Foundation.
Kent Wong’s steadfast support, generosity of spirit, and commitment to justice have left an indelible legacy at UCLA, SPARC, and across the many communities he empowered.
Rest in power, Kent. Your work lives on in the movements and people you inspired.
