War of the Flea: The Fight for Xicano Studies is a real-life David v. Goliath story of Xicano students at Michigan State. Through their involvement with Movimiento Estudiantil Xicano de Aztlan (MEXA), agitation, and grassroots community organizing they forced a major university to establish a Xicano/Latino Studies program. These students and their small and increasingly marginalized community were barraged by attack after attack. This documentary chronicles the main events that changed the trajectory of their lives. Join the director in this screening and opportunity for discussion of the film and how it relates to organizing the struggle now. 

Ernesto Todd Mireles, MSW.  Ph.D. is a filmmaker and award-winning author, a three-decade student, community, union, and electoral organizer. Mireles is currently faculty in Northern Arizona University’s Ethnic Studies department. He holds an MSW in organizational and community practice and a PhD in American Studies from Michigan State University. His book Insurgent Aztlan was awarded a 2020 International Latino Book Award in the Best Political/Current Affairs category. Mireles does a weekly podcast called The Reality Dysfunction and has completed his first documentary about Xicana/o/x student organizing titled War of the Flea: Fight for Xicano Studies. He has recently started writing short screenplays and filming them.