From Jose Zapata Calderon

In hearing about the recent death of my good friend Anthropologist Michael Higgins, I could not help but reminisce about some of the contributions that he gave to me, my family, and to some of our community organizing efforts.  I met Michael when he was a professor at UNC and I had returned to organize in the communities of Northern Colorado after completing a B. A. at the University of Colorado in the 1970's.  When we reconstructed an old house in the Northern part of Greeley into a community center, Michael was there as a brother always offering his support.  I have to share that, in those times, I sometimes did not know where my next meal was going to come from.  Michael shared his meals as he shared his love for music from throughout the world.  When one of my students not too long ago visited him in Oaxaca, he joked that he had "taught me how to cook."  Mostly, he introduced me to the protest music and literature arising out of the seeds of struggle and sacrifice in Latin America.  Michael was always there as a colleague when I taught for a time at UNC and his outlook on teaching and learning have been an essential part of my pedagogies.  We dialogued on Paulo Freire and looked for ways to connect community-based ethnographic research to our classrooms.  Michael was always there when we advocated for immigrant rights or for quality of life issues. When Rose and I married, Michael was there.  He treated my sons like they were his.  When he retired and left to Oaxaca, we kept in touch.  His example of a professor who never lost touch with the community stayed with me as I pursued a PhD at UCLA (and eventually as a professor at Pitzer College).  When me and my family visited him in Oaxaca, he took us through the barrios so that we could meet the many friends that were now part of his extended family. We were so impressed with the young people, the viejitos (elderly), and the many families who, because of their deep respect for Michael, welcomed us with open arms. I remember Michael with his laughter and with his love for all that is good in the society.  While I am deeply hurt today -- I know that he would have said that we should not mourn.  And, as he would have wanted, we will continue to work to create the kind of just and equal society that he always promoted in his writings, e-mails, and in his international spirit.  His spirit is very much alive in all that I do, in what my family does, and in all that we will do in the future as it is emerging.

Jose Zapata Calderon
Professor of Sociology and Chicano Studies
1050 North Mills Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711-6101
(909) 607-2852  (909) 621-8479 Fax
 Jose_Calderon@pitzer.edu