Actor Edward Olmos to Speak at College

Entertainer Edward James Olmos will be a guest speaker at Mission College on Thursday as part of the school’s Unity in Diversity lecture series, college officials said.

Olmos, an East Los Angeles native, received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of math teacher Jaime Escalante in the 1987 film “Stand and Deliver.”

“In addition to being an actor, [Olmos] is also a social activist,” said Mission philosophy instructor Larry Andre, coordinator of the lecture series. “His message is that we are all human beings, and once we get away from gender, race and socioeconomic differences, we all have the same basic needs and desires.”

Olmos, who has starred in such films as “Selena,” “American Me” and “Mi Familia/My Family,” is the executive director of the Lives In Hazard Educational Project, a national gang-prevention program funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. He is also the United States’ goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and national spokesman for the Juvenile Diabetes and Aids Awareness foundations.

Olmos’ appearance at Mission will mark the first installment of the popular lecture series this semester.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Hernandez is scheduled to speak in April, Andre said.

Thursday’s lecture is free and open to the public. It will be held from 7-9 p.m. in Mission’s Campus Center, 13356 Eldridge Ave., in Sylmar.