Political protests are a way to demonstrate disagreement caused by oppression, discrimination, or the simple fact of being different, and feeling threatened by society. Equality is an important value that everyone would like to acquire. Unfortunately, this value of equality is not always applied to all. Political protest have caused a radical change in American society. One of the most important protests that influenced American society in the United States was the Chicano Movement. The Chicano Movement emerged from Mexican-Americans who took pride in their own identity. Their purpose was to fight for equality and eliminate the racism. The Chicano Movement was formed by young students with a large voice that wanted to end segregation; therefore, …show more content…
they created groups and alliances to obtain their goals. However, to obtain their goals Mexican-Americans faced many struggles in order to gain Americanization. The Chicano Movement created a big impact on Latinos and Americans. Mexican-Americans is the term used to define Mexicans that are born in the United States. This group of people assigned a specific name to identify their ethnicity. They began to label themselves as ‘Chicanos’, which it has the same definition as ‘Mexican-Americans’. George Sanchez explains that the culture concepts between Mexicans and Mexican-Americans was a problem since there was not an agreement between these groups. Mexicans had their Mexican culture and Americans had their own culture as well. However, there existed two cultural poles: “‘Mexicano’ which is being considered as the Old World ethnic and the other culture was the ‘Anglo United States’”(Sanchez 5). Chicano stood as a subculture between these two cultures. Identity played a big role in Chicano’s mind because they did not know how to identify themselves, therefore they wanted to fight and gain respect. The Chicano Movement was the “event [during 1960’s-1970’s] in which Mexican Americans defined and took pride in their own identity, asserted their civil rights, and worked toward self-determination by improving their financial, social, and political circumstances” (Ramirez sec.1). This movement was also known as ‘El Movimiento’. As Mexicans in America, they wanted to be part of the American society, but their ethnicity was a conflict to be accepted as Americans therefore they fought to be assimilated as Chicanos. The Mexican- American pride of their own identity is reflected in several ways, the most important is the Chicano Movement, but this also leads to the creation of songs with lyrics that expressed their thoughts about the chicanismo.
Los Alvarados were a musical group who wrote the song ‘Yo Soy Chicano’. “ Yo soy Chicano, tengo color . . . cuando me dicen que hay revolución, defiendo a mi raza con mucho valor”. The lyrics of this song talk about how Chicanos are proud of their skin color and if they have to fight to protect their people, they would do it with pride. Many other songs were written during this period as a way to express and fight for their rights. The main element that carried out this movement was the feeling of being discriminated and segregated just for being Chicanos. “A racial common sense of white superiority and Mexican inferiority informed the Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s nominating practices” (Lopez 120). Ian Lopez argued that the Mexican culture was put down for whites, Mexicans were often stereotyped as dark, dirty, lazy, cowardly, and criminal (121). This discrimination, forced the Chicano ethnicity to form part of the movement and fight for …show more content…
equality. The purpose of the Chicano movement was to fight for equality. According to Escobar, Mexican Americans wanted to be part of the Anglo society and have the equal rights as Anglos therefore, Chicanos organized themselves to fight for justice by forming groups to develop tactics to end discrimination: [Chicanos] worked together to finish discriminatory practices in three distinct ways: by engaging in liberal politics in order to end the most offensive forms of anti-Mexican discrimination; by declaring Mexican Americans part of the white race and therefore worthy of equality; and by adopting a pluralistic vision of American society in which they could maintain aspects of their Mexican culture but still be integrated into the mainstream of American life.(1490). Chicanos formed part of the political issue to be counted by the government and gain rights. Chicanos also wanted to be seen as part of the white race, nevertheless they did not want to be white Americans. “[Chicanos] developed the national concept of chicanismo to signal that they rejected assimilation” (1491). Chicanos declared themselves a nonwhite minority and demonstrated how proud they were of their Mexicans roots and race. In order to gain equality and fight for justice Chicanos had to protest in different ways such as social media influence (newspaper), visual art (murals, posters), and marchings. According to The Journal of American History “Movement organizations communicated their message to the larger Mexican-American community, though the Chicano media” (Escobar 1492). Newspaper in Los Angeles such as Inside Eastside, Chicano Student Movement , La Causa and La Raza used their ability to publish articles about the concept of chicanismo. In their articles, the information provided was about the “ideology celebrated Chicano’s culture and identity, declared them an oppressed minority . . . and demanded an end to racial discrimination” (Escobar 1492). The support of this newspaper opens the eyes of the Mexican community to help and fight for justice and create organizations that would it be beneficial to the cause. As any other culture, art is a big contributor of ideas and thoughts that are expressed in the visual concept. Mexicans are influenced by the practice of art, murals are an example of this artistic practice. The Congreso de Artistas Chicanos en Aztlan paint a mural which they label ‘We Are Not A Minority’. This mural is in East Los Angeles and in the background of this mural Che Guevara is representing that Chicanos can fight for their rights and goals. “According to . . . Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilino [an art historian] chicanismo was a complex of nationalist strategies by which Chicano origins and histories, as well as present and future identities, were constructed and legitimized” (sec 7). The idea of this mural was the resistance of the Anglo assimilation and the purpose to declare a new ethnicity which is was not considered as a minority. During the marchings that Chicanos organized to protest, they did posters to demonstrate the disagreement towards police brutality and inequality in education. The message they wanted to send was notated with phases and art on the posters. Strong phrases such as ‘we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us’, ‘Chicano means power’, ‘viva la huelga’, ‘brown power’, ‘la raza primero’ etc. This phrases on the poster demonstrates what Chicanos wanted and were fighting for. Every word on the posters had a sign to the protest since by doing this the Mexican-American community gain power in order to fight. This activity of revelation was also reflected in poems and songs nevertheless, the activity that caused more impact on the Anglo society was the marching and school walkouts.
Chicanos turned to random violence to vent their frustration one of the most significant protest was in Los Angeles, California where the walkouts caused more controversy. “Thousands of students walking out in March and the continuing negotiations between community leaders and the school board, East Los Angeles on May 1968 was relatively quiet” (Lopez 167). This protest lead to hundreds of arrests, but this was not an obstacle to defeat the Chicano Movement. According to Edward Escobar, this event was cooperated by thousand of high school Chicano students who took pride of their identity and decided to fight against the Los Angeles School Board
members: The events that spurred local police to even more repressive measures were the March 1968 student walkouts, when over thousand East Los Angeles Chicano high school students walked out of their classes to protest the inferior education they received. . . . the students demanded the same facilities, textbook, and supplies as students in predominantly white schools; curriculum changes to include Chicano history and culture; more Mexican-American teachers, counselors, and administrators; and amnesty for students and teachers who participated in the walkouts (1495). Mexican-Americans became one group in order to obtain their goal of equality. Teachers, students, counselor, among other school members; all of them were fighting for the same cause. The good cause to get a better education. The Chicano Movement was integrated by scholars leaders who motivated many students to form part of this activity. On the documentary “Taking Back The School” produced by Susan Racho and narrated by Henry Cisneros many of the members of this movements describe their experience of being part of the walkouts. Moctesuma Esparza is one of the main protester who supported and influenced students to rebel against the bad education their were receiving. Students wanted a better education. Parents, students, and police were involved in this protest. The protest started because Chicanos were being segregate and receiving a low education. Harry Gamboa, an artist who talked in the documentary to express his ideas said that he was discriminated for being a Latino, he was isolated with a group of chicanos receiving a horrible education and not having a guarantee of going to College. Carmen Lomas Garza was also an artist who disclosure that she was also discriminated for taking tacos with frijoles and meat for lunch. Moctesuma Esparza, stated the he felt embarrassed of being a Mexican and of his father not being a fluent English speaker. All of this discrimination factors were a ways to push students to fight and protest to end discrimination and gain an equal level of education and opportunities as Anglo students. Sal Castro was a history teacher that influenced students to fight and demand Civil Rights. Castro demanded more latinos teachers, counselors, mexican-american courses, and bilingual instructors to Los Angeles School Board. Unfortunately the school board ignored this demand. Sal Castro, Moctesuma Esparza, and Carlos Muñoz were the primary leaders of the walkouts. Castro helped students to organized the walkouts, at a special time students were planned to stand p of their sits, at a middle of the class and walk out of the school with posters and phrases to protest to obtain Civil Rights. Parents supported their children with this activism. The walkouts were supported not only by teenagers and leaders, but also with alliances that protested for the same cause. According to Escobar, a group of young Mexican-Americans called themselves Young Chicanos for Community Action (YCCA), but months later changed their name to the Brown Berets. They also adopted a military posture who represented the security march on the street to support and help the students. “What would become the Brown Berets originated when six young Chicanos formed the core of the Young Citizens for Community Action (YCCA) in May of 1966 in Los Angeles.” (Muñoz, 09). The purpose of the Brown Berets was to make more Chicanos students be able to enroll college. Carlos Muñoz argued that the Los Angeles Police Department infiltrate people to their alliances, to make Chicanos acted violence in order to get arrested by the police: On June 2, 1968, three months after the high school student strike, thirteen young Mexican American civil rights activists, who had been identified by the city power structure as leaders of the emerging “Brown Power” movement, were indicted by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury on conspiracy charges for their roles in organizing the strike. The indictments charged that the activists had conspired to “willfully disturb the peace and quiet” of the city of Los Angeles and disrupt the educational process in its schools. They were alternately characterized as members of communist “subversive organizations,” or outside agitators intent on radicalizing Mexican American students. Each of the thirteen activists faced a total of sixty-six years in prison if found guilty (09). Muñoz, Castro, and Esparza were all arrested on their homes because the infiltrators gave the police their plan to protest and they were accused of cospiration. Sal Castro argued that he and his group was not acting violence, in fact the infiltrators were the ones who proposed to act violence and some of the Chicanos acted violence against the police because infiltrator provoked criminal incidents.
Introduction to Chicano Studies or Chicano Studies 1A is an introductory course at UC Santa Barbara on the historical development of Chicano people that covers topics ranging from the Aztec Society to the contemporary Latino Generation. The class includes a lecture, with 500 students, and is taught by Professor Mario T. Garcia. It is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 to 3:15 PM in Isla Vista Theater 1. There is also a mandatory section which is taught by a teacher’s assistant. The section is 50 minutes long, and in my case led by Sarah Latanyshyn on Friday afternoons in Girvetz Hall.
Cinco de Mayo is usually confused with Mexican Independence day but that day is when Mexico fought French invaders. During 1910, Mexico revolted against its repressive rulers and adapted its new constitution. They came up with the term for those who were told in Mexico they weren’t Mexican and in America who weren’t American. They wanted to belong to both. While the Civil Rights movement is mostly known to give African-American rights but, Chicanos also fought for their rights. The term Chicano first became accepted during the Chicano Movement. Thus, Chicanos have many things to be proud of. Their Aztec ancestors were intelligent people who built a city on water and made all Chicanos royalty. Along with their Mexican ancestors won two revolutions and won against the huge French army. Trinidad Sanchez Jr., a poet, wrote about Chicano pride in his poem, “Why Am I so Brown?” Sanchez wrote the poem in order to call attention to that all should be proud of their skin color. His poem talks about Chicanos having honor in their skin color by using imagery, metaphors, and
The movie “Walkout” is about young Chicano/a activists who demand educational equality. In 1968, students living in East L.A were treated unequally. Since, most of these students were Chicanos they were given few resources. One example was presented when Paula visited the Palisades library. In East Los Angeles, bathrooms were close during lunch breaks and students were forced to janitorial labor as forms of punishment. Throughout, the movie some themes that arose were regarding identity (What is a Chicano?), walkouts as forms of protest for equality, and gender expectations. After Salvador Castro read the poem “I am Joaquin” by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez, the Chicano/a activist’s had a hard time understanding who they were. Many Chicano/a’s identified
On page 277, what does the author say about gender issues within the Chicano Movement? Notably, on page 277 Vigil states that “When Chicanas began to raise the issue of gender inequities, some movement activists responded by arguing that feminist concerns diverted attention from the ‘real’ issues of racism and class exploitation.” Furthermore, I believe that racism and class exploitation are equally as important in acknowledgment as is feminism exploitation because women in the media are constantly being exploited for their sexuality. Further, Vigil also states “Chicano intellectuals ‘interpreted the condition of Mexican men and women to be synonymous; gender was irrelevant in determining life experience and power’” (277). In all honesty,
In the early 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was rearing its head amongst ethnicities other than African Americans. The mid-60’s saw the flowering of a movement for legal rights among Mexican-Americans, as well as a new militancy challenging the group’s second-class economic status. The aptly named ‘Chicano’ movement had many similarities to what the ‘Black Power’ movement also advocated. It primarily emphasized pride in both the past and present Mexican culture, but unlike the Black Power movement and SDS, it was also closely linked to labor struggles. The movement itself found one of its leaders in César Estrada Chávez, the son of migrant farm works and disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. César Chávez would become the best-known Latino American civil rights activist through his use of aggressive but nonviolent tactics and his public-relations approach to unionism. In 1965, Chávez led a series of nonviolent protests which included marches, fasts and a national boycott of California grapes. The boycott drew national attention to the pitifully low wages and oppressive working conditions forced upon migrant laborers, and in 1969, Chávez addressed a “Letter from Delano” to agricultural employers, defending his own movement’s aims and tactics.
Armando Rendon in his landmark 1970 wrote the book I am a Chicano. This book is about how activist in the Chicano movement pointed to an empty monolog of the word Chicano. Chicano means an activist. Chicanos describes themselves it was a form of self-affirmation; it reflected the consciousness that their experiences. Chicanos means, nations, histories, and cultures. This book talks about how Mexican American also used the term of Chicano to describe them, and usually in a lighthearted way, or as a term of endearment. In a text it talks how Chicanos haven’t forgotten their Mexican origins, and how they become a unique community. The book talks about how Mexican American community’s long-suffering history of racism and discrimination, disenfranchisement, and economic exploitation in the United States. The
Moraga, Cherrie. “Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe,” in The Color of Privilege 1996, ed Aida Hurtado. Ann Arbor: University Michigan Press, 1996.
A question that every high school student is faced with is: “What extracurricular activities so you participate in?” Some can answer confidently while others are slapped with a moment of sudden realization. These people are just floating along with the crowd, with no driving force or motivation. What I believe differentiates me from my peers and gives me a sense of uniqueness, is what I do outside of my academia. Out of the deluge of activities that are available, Latinos In Action is the one that I feel the most passionate about and shapes my persona the most.
When someone say’s “hispanic,” what definition comes to mind? Hispanics are not one nationality, nor one culture. Instead, Hispanics are greatly diverse people. Our language and cultural origins are Spanish and Latin American, regardless of race and color. Hispanics can be European, Indian, or of African descent, or any combination of the three. The culture could be linked to Mexico, the Caribbean countries, Central America, South America and Spain. Hispanics were once considered a rarity in the United States, now we are found throughout the country.
The Chicano movement in the LA school system improved Mexican-American self determination. After hiring Mexican-American advisors and teachers students were encouraged to go to college and to follow their dreams no matter how huge the dream was. Mexican-American students in east LA were no longer told what they could not do and were no longer held back from their ambitions. The positive changes implemented by the school board opened the doors for students to further their education and become the professionals they wanted to be. No one could tell them no anymore.
The Chicano Movement, like many other civil rights movements, gained motivation from the everyday struggles that the people had to endure in the United States due to society. Mexican-Americans, like many other ethnicities, were viewed as an inferior group compared to white Americans. Mexican-Americans sought to make a change with the Chicano Movement and “the energy generated by the movement focused national attention on the needs of Mexican-Americans” (Bloom 65). The Mexican-American Movement had four main issues that it aimed to resolve and they ranged from “restoration of la...
The increase and changing demography in the United State today, with the disparities in the health status of people from different cultural backgrounds has been a challenge for health care professionals to consider cultural diversity as a priority. It is impossible for nurses and other healthcare professionals to learn and understand theses diversity in culture, but using other approaches like an interpreter is very helpful for both nurses and patients. In this paper of a culturally appropriate care planning, I will be discussing on the Hispanic American culture because, I had come across a lot of them in my career as a nurse. The Hispanic are very diverse in terms of communication and communities and include countries like Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South and Central America, and some of them speak and write English very well, some speaks but can’t write while some can’t communicate in English at all but Spanish.
During the 1900’s through 1950’s the United States experienced an influx of immigrants coming in from Mexico seeking employment opportunities, as many of them wanted to avoid the Mexican Revolution occurring from 1910 to 1920. Methods for arriving in the United States varied for each individual’s preference of the destination, but the means of transportation had been constant throughout. These methods of transportation consisted of contractors seeking unskilled workers willing to partake in hard labor in steel, railroad, or agriculture companies. Contractors traveled to towns close to Mexico’s boarder such as Laredo or El Paso seeking Mexicans citizens for labors. In some instances, immigrants traveled on their own will based on the advice
The Chicano movement began in the 1960s with many social problems that minorities wanted to raise awareness and fix. The Chicano movement can also be called “El Movimiento”. The movement focused on political and civil rights that people thought were not being addressed. The movement tended to all Mexican-Americans that were being oppressed in the South Western region of the United States. The movement formed all neighborhoods and communities which then grew to unions.
What is culture? Many people ask themselves this question every day. The more you think about it the more confusing it is. Sometimes you start leaning to a culture and then people tell you you’re wrong or they make you feel like a different person because of your culture. I go through this almost every day. Because of the way I was raised I love Mexican rodeo but I was born and raised in Joliet. This can be very difficult trying to understand culture. I live in this huge mix of culture. Culture is personal. People can have many cultures especially in America and because of globalization. Cultural identity is not one or the other, it is not Mexican or American. Cultural identity is an individual relevant thing.