Born in 1971 during a five-on-five basketball game among a group of Cal students from Casa Joaquin Murrieta/Chicano Student Co-op and friends from East Oakland, La Raza met the rising need in Oakland, CA, for an athletic league by Latinos, for Latinos. In addition to elevating athletic excellence, the La Raza community has produced future craftspeople, teachers, guidance counselors, doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and politicians.