Due to this new influx of immigrants Latino communities were now made up of individuals of different nationalities, social-economic status, and immigrant status. This began to split the Latino community into four major classes. The lower class makes up around fifty percent of the Latino community. This class tends to be made of poor and working class immigrants who tend to live in inner cities. The reason for why these individuals live in the inner city is because this is where they tend to find jobs. After the lower class emerge the stable working class Latino communities, which compromises fifteen percent of the Latino community. This new Latino community is composed of twenty five percent middle class individuals, and the professional class …show more content…
only composes ten percent of the Latino community. The reason for which the Latino community went from having a relatively small lower class to having a large lower class was that unionized manufacturing jobs that were once available to Latinos where no longer available. This was due to economic restructuring which created low wage jobs, many of which were only part time. In order to compensate for low wage jobs Latino communities created informal economies. An example for how an informal economy works is say one individual is a mechanic and another is an upholster. If the upholster need his car fixed and the mechanic need one of his car reupholstered, the mechanic will fix the upholstery’s car and the upholster will reupholster the mechanic car. This a way to compensate for not having the funds to pay for the service due to having low wage jobs. Mexican Americans as a response to economic and state restructuring initiated the Latino civil rights movement.
This movement sought to regain access to lost land, gain rights for farm workers, and educational reform. The movement started in the 1940’s and 1950’s with two important court cases. The first was Mendez v. Westminster Supreme Court case in 1947 case that said that prohibited the segregating of white and Latino children. The second was the 1954 supreme case of Hernandez v. Texas. which ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment granted equal protection for all groups not just whites. These cases enabled Latinos to gain access to gateway institutions such as education. Which in turn resulted in upward mobility for small sectors of the Latino community. Not only did the movement gain access for some Latinos but also it was able to secure unionization for Mexican American farm workers. This was done a 1965 national boycott of grapes that forced grape growers to recognize United Farm Workers in Delano, California that was spearheaded by Caesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Also grape pickers went on strike, and Chavez went through a twenty-five day hunger strike in 1968. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was a supported of the movement and showed this by joining the movement when it was at its’ peak. In 1970 farm workers finally were able sign agreements that acknowledged the United Farm Workers as a union. The Latino civil rights movement was able to gain access for some Latinos but …show more content…
it did not address illegal Latinos. Restructuring of the; economy, state, Latino household, and Latino community combined with the Latino civil rights movement created change in the Latino. The Latino civil rights movement created growth in the Latino middle and professional classes. However, this change created a class differentiation among the Latino population. The Latino population was now a heterogeneous population, due to the loss of the middle class among Latinos. This created clear distinctions lower class Latinos and Professional class Latinos. Through out this process there was an increase of the Latino broker class. This broker class was compromised of professional class Latinos whose voice was listened to as if what they said related to all sectors of the Latino population. However, many Latinos in the broker class cannot relate to the struggles experienced by lower class Latinos. Through this process there was four issues that arose. The first had to do with the relationship Latinos would with their own immigrants, and foreigners. The second was concerned with the relationship that would be created with different ethnicities, races, and cultures. The third issue was how would socioeconomic inequalities that impact ethno racial groups disproportionately be dealt with? Lastly what would the relationship be with countries of the “South” that have become interpenetrated with U.S. society? The question becomes how does each sector of Latinos go about making their voice heard in regards to these issues? Out of restructuring and the Latino civil rights movement arose an issue, which was that the Latino population became polarized. There was a group of Latinos that were able to gain access to gatekeeper institutions such as higher education that enabled them to move into the middle and professional classes. However, this was only a small sector of Latinos around fifty to sixty percent of Latinos were marginalized. A major issue becomes how do these marginalized groups of Latinos gain inclusion that seeks to limit their access due to their low economic status, lack of citizenship etc. Latinos in the lower and working class are seeking empowerment. This analysis will examine two forms of politics that can be used in order to gain access and become empowered. Is first is that of traditional politics which seeks to gain access through voting and other traditional modes of politics. The second is oppositional politics that this analysis will argue is the type of politics that needs to be used by marginalized groups of Latinos in order to gain access. However, the particular form of oppositional politics that will analyzed is a form of the household oppositional politics called associative citizenship. This analysis will seek to demonstrate that because of exclusionary inclusion and perpetual foreignness certain sectors of Latinos cannot use traditional politics to become empowered and gain full inclusion. There are four sectors of Latinos that arose from the restructuring process and civil rights movement. These sectors are as follow lower, working, middle, and professional class. They all seek to gain political empowerment, which is the ability to influence political decisions. First, this analysis will look at traditional politics and what groups have access to this form politics and why. Traditional politics is done mostly through voting and donating to political campaigns in order to influence decisions. The Latino professional sector, which makes up around ten percent of the Latino population, is the primary user of traditional politics. The reason for why they use they use this form of politics is that they have access due to their professions and more importantly their citizenship status. The way in which professional class Latinos participate in traditional politics is by voting, through political contributions, running for office or being a part of political campaigns in one way or another. Some middle classes Latinos use traditional politics by voting but they do not tend to be as involved as professional class Latinos. Middle class Latinos make up around twenty five percent of the Latino population. Working class Latinos account for about fifteen percent of the Latino population do not tend to use traditional politics as much. Some working class Latinos use traditional politics by voting but they do so in smaller numbers and mostly in presidential elections only. Working class Latinos do not have the ability to influence in the same way that a professional class Latino does due to lack of fund and status. The Latino Lower class accounts for around fifty percent of the Latino population. These individuals do not tend to use traditional politics, not because they do not want to but because they do not have the ability to. Many of these lower class Latinos are not documented which means they cannot vote and even if they did their voice would have little influence on decisions because of their low economic standing. Even though the lower class of Latinos does not participate in traditional politics since the professional class does their voice is taken as the voice for the entire Latino population. The lower class of Latinos is not able to use traditional politics even though they make up the largest portion of the Latino population.
Therefore, in order for the lower class to be recognized they must use oppositional politics. The reason for this is that in order for the Latino lower class to have an influence on they must change the system, and historically traditional politics have not been the best model to achieve this end. Oppositional is the best option for Latinos seeking to change the
system. The oppositional politics that would serve as the best option for marginalized Latino groups is based on Friedman’s household model. The household model has some specific characteristics. The first is the household is a unit of survival and economic production not the individuals. Next this model recognizes that individuals do not participate for political reason but because they see the difference it could make in their lives. This model also recognizes that individuals will not organize if they do not see a connection to their own life. The household model draws on three types of power that do not the typical sources of power such as wealth and access to institutions. The first is that of social power, which is the access to networks, the ability to survive economically with limited resources, ability to participate in informal markets. The second is political power, which is having access to institutions that have the ability to influence decisions. The last is Psychological power, which is achieved when individuals of a sense that have the capability to invoke change. This is the most important power to have because if individuals do not believe they can succeed they will not make the effort and if they do their effort will most likely fail. When individuals do not have the resources needed to invoke change they must use their numbers to interrupt the system in order to get their voice heard. This is done by marches, boycotts, and demonstration. Friedman describes a path to civil resistance for the household model. He says that it must start in households. When households come together it is a around a single issue and when that issue is resolved they tend to disperse. However, sometimes these households realize that they have similar interest and create civil associations in order to continue to combat issues. The next step is a social movement, which is a collaboration of many civil associations that come together around specific issues and goals. Social movements seek to change the rules of the game. For example the Latino civil rights movement was able to gain access to higher education for some Latinos. Social movements do not last and in order to be successful must pressure policy makers into making changes in policy. The household model is intended to benefit groups such as Latinos that have been marginalized due to globalization. Latinos are marginalized because they do not have economic resources. They are also systematically disempowered which leads to poverty which leads to marginalization. Therefore, Latinos have to find a new way of looking at political mobilization. For this reason Latinos need to use a form of the household model. However, in order to be successful Latinos must have one or more of the following three long-term goals. The first goal is to make institutions more accountable for their actions. The second is to democratize all sectors of everyday life such as school, workplace, etc. The third is that the group must revolve around self-governance.
While working on the farms they would be sprayed with pesticides. The farm owners did not care at all for these people, only for their crops. They would work long hours without rest and little to no access to water or restrooms. All the workers would share drinking water by passing around a can and everyone would drink from there. Women had it more difficult because restrooms were not available, “it would be embarrassing, extremely humiliating,” as union co-founder, Dolores Huerta, described it in the video. This mistreatment kept going for years, some workers even said that it felt like slavery. In 1962 the National Farm Workers Association was created in Delano California to protest against all the farm owners that took advantage of the migrant workers. The founder of this association was a farmer named Cesar Chavez. He gathered farmers of all cultures to launch a strike that would hopefully undo all of these injustices that the workers had to go through. The farmers began their strike walking and yelling “Huelga” on the roads alongside the farms. This strike lasted two years but
In 1938, the Chavez family lost their farm due to the Great Depression. They were forced to relocate to California and become migrant workers. Chavez was distressed by the poor treatment that migrant farmworkers endured on a daily basis. His powerful religious convictions, dedication to change, and a skill at non violent organizing cultivated the establishment of the United Farmworkers (UFW). It was also referred to as “La Causa” by supporters and eventually became a vital movement for self-determination in the lives of California's farmworkers. The astounding nationwide lettuce and grape boycotts along with public support revealed the atrocities of California agribusiness and resulted in the first union hiring halls and collective bargaining for migrant workers. The details of the childhood of Cesar Chavez and how they would later shape his actions are a vital aspect of this book and the establishment of the farm workers movement.
The strike was the final straw of years of racial build up, poor pay, and poor conditions towards Filipino American grape workers. From 1965 to 1970, Huerta and Chavez worked together to highlight the poor conditions that 5,000 migrant farm workers were dealing with in a series of non-violent marches, speeches, and rallies. There was no significant response for the first two years, where strikers began to loose faith and turned their impatience to anger. Huerta, with the help of Chavez, took on a different tactic towards the boycott and began to spread the strike nationally. Huerta encouraged and helped farmers travel across the United States and Canada, spreading the news on what was really happening and asking for more
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.
During this era, LBJ and the Civil Rights Bill was the main aattraction. July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed a civil rights bill that prohibited discrimination in voting, education, employment, and other areas of the American life. At this point, the American life will be changed forever. LBJ had helped to weaken bills because he felt as if it was the states job and not the goverment, but why did he change his mind? Was polictics the reason LBJ signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1964?
Los Angeles was the place to find work if laboring was all you knew. Not speaking a word of English, but able to labor in the fields of California's various crops, Mexican immigrants flocked to Los Angeles. Los Angeles quickly became a Mecca for Mexicans wishing to partake of the American dream establishing themselves and creating families. The American dream, however, became just a dream as harsh unequal assessments by white Americans placed Mexican-Americans at the bottom of the social, economic, and political ladders. Whites believed that Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans had no place in their society: a place shared by many minorities (Del Castillo 7). Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans in Los Angeles were at a great disadvantage despite their great numbers. No representation existed for the minorities.
Latin@s both young and old worked for hours in the hot sun. Out in the fields they worked hard to earn a living, but they did not get paid what they deserved. They got paid very little by the farm laborers who profited a lot from their labor (source: University of Michigan). To fight against this unjust treatment, Chican@s went on strike and boycotted the California grapes. In document 1 it shows photographs of the United Farm Workers strike poster and the boycotts. Many people joined the strike and boycott to help support the cause and won. Both strategies showed to be very effective in getting the farm workers a fair pay and treatment (source: United Farm
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.
It is in the solving of social problems in which Hispanics can be of tremendous service to the country. One of the greatest attributes of hispanics is the willingness to mix, and by doing so, have created cultural forms, new human relationships, and life styles. Because this, Hispanics can help look for solutions to barriers, prejudices, and stereotypes that have divided us as a
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.
After the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) roughly 77,000 Mexican people became citizens of the United States. Since then many of these citizens and later immigrants have been treated as unequal persons or worse. In the early part of the 20th century Mexican Americans faced injustices such as segregation, inequalities in employment, housing, education, and even frequent hangings. Further, they were not allowed to vote due to the fact that many of them had difficulty understanding English, and were not permitted to learn the language. Mexicans were not allowed to vote, and when they finally were they had to pay money for the right to vote. A large number of the Mexican people did not have the money to pay for this right, so their white bosses paid the fee and told them to vote for a candidate that favored the boss.
In the U. S today, the approximated population of undocumented immigrants stands at averagely 11 million. Therefore, this has created a hot debate in Congress about the action to take over the undocumented immigrants. Those opposed to illegal immigrants suggest that, their stay in the United States effects U.S citizens on the job market negatively . In addition, illegal immigrants are viewed in certain quarters as takers in the sense that illegal immigrants benefit more from public resources than the american-born citizens of the U.S. However, the reality is that immigrants contribute positively to the U.S economy and pay significantly into the system compared to what they send back home. In addition, the contributions associated with undocumented immigrants involve sustaining the solvency of the SSTF (Social Security Trust Fund). In this sense, the use of cost benefit analysis by those supporting immigration restrictions are unfounded and do not reflect the facts on the ground (Nadadur 1037). The opponents of undocumented immigrants believe that having more undocumented immigrants in the U.S is costly; however, there are no solid reasons to prove that undocumented immigrants are a burden to the treasury. Instead, the undocumented immigrants play an important role in boosting the economy and in particular by taking up jobs those citizens perceive as demeaning because the money they earn goes back to the economy through taxes resulting from consumer spending when they send money back home.
The National Farm Association was co-founded by Cesar Chavez and Gil Padilla. The main purpose of this association was to seek and enforce Mexican-American labor laws. Such as reasonable work hours and pay an individual receives. To get their message across, many formed marches, boycotts, and strikes. With these forms of expression, people started to hear the voices of those wanting a change in El Movimiento.
The first movement in history for the Hispanic/Latino population in the United States was during and after World War II. It launched the entire movement of Hispanic Civil Rights. It carried on from the 1940’s to present time. The movement started in west coast states like California, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to east coast states like Florida and New York. Many Latinos saw this as an opportunity to push for equal rights. They paid their taxes, blended into society, and volunteered or drafted in to the army. They felt they deserve equal votes, not to be discriminated, and hate crimes should be stopped. The movement pushed for a much fairer immigration reform, labor rights, and housing. They knew to fix this issue; they had to be involved
middle of paper ... ... Despite having to battle discrimination and poor neighborhoods, second and third generation Mexican-Americans have made great strife to overcome large obstacles. Mexican-Americans are finally gaining representation in city government, representing the 9.6 million Mexican residents of Los Angeles. White politicians can no longer ignore Mexicans in Los Angeles, as former mayor Richard Riordan saw in the elections of 1997, in which his re-election was largely in part due to the high turnout of Mexican voters in his favor.