The National Council of La Raza is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. They work to advocate for the Hispanic community and other subgroups in the U.S. by creating opportunities and making the American Dream attainable for minorities. The organization was founded by Herman Gallegos, Julian Samora, and Ernesto Galarza in 1968 under the name of the Southwest Council of La Raza. When the organization was originally founded, its purpose was to unite Hispanics and provide assistance and organizational structure to Mexican-American families. In 1973 the Southwest Council of La Raza became a national organization, moved its headquarters from Arizona to Washington D.C., and changed the organization's …show more content…
name to the National Council of La Raza. In the mid-1970’s, NCLR began expanding their focus to include non-Hispanic centered issues and by 1980, the Council was being mainly funded by the federal government. In 1981 the Reagan administration reduced federal funding for many groups, as a result, the NCLR had to reduce its large scale operations and focus on issues at the local and state level. Today, the NCLR provides education and social services to thousands of families and they have state and regional offices located across the United States including Washington D.C., Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Antonio. Contrary to common belief, the term “la raza”, when used in “The National Council of La Raza” translates to “the people” or “the community” rather than “the race.” The phrase originated from Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos and was a way to describe the mixture of Latin American culture and people.
The full term, “la raza cosmica” which means “the cosmic people” reflected the mixture of the Hispanic people. Another misconception and false idea about NCLR is that they only offer help to those of Hispanic origin. This is simply not true, according to the National Council of La Raza, in 2006 affiliates helped 29,000 clients through the homeownership program. Roughly 20% or those clients were White and 12% were Black. The council focuses primarily on low-income areas and neighborhoods which in turn brings in the demographic of that area, many of whom are Hispanic. This along with the fact that NCLR offers services both in English and Spanish help attract a wide range of Spanish- speaking cultures. The NCLR are represented by a wide range of employees that are of all different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. The council is not exclusive to a specific group or race and it does not discriminate against a diversity of
people.
The video “La Raza de Colorado: El Movimiento” and the exhibit “El Movimiento” at UNC’s Michener Library chronicle the struggles and triumphs of Mexican Americans in Weld County and throughout the state of Colorado. Visitors of the exhibit can see different graphics and pictures posted on the walls depicting many of the important events such as the protests against Kitayama farms in the 1960’s which aimed at improving working conditions and pay, especially for women. Not only were farm workers being exploited, but factory workers lacked appropriate conditions as well, to help with this, several groups such as United Farm Workers, Brown Berets and Black Panthers organized a united front in order to launch strikes and boycotts against offending farms, factories and businesses which oppressed and exploited minority workers. Another source of dissent was the Vietnam war. Minority groups felt that White America was waging a war against colored
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,
Prior to watching this documentary I had never heard about the La Raza Unida Party. It seems that so much of American History is focused on the discrimination of the African Americans that the Mexican Americans were simply forgotten about. I am glad you chose this as a
There were many groups and organizations attempting better the Mexican American Condition during the sixties and seventies: the Alianza in New Mexico, the Crusade for Justice in Colorado, La Raza in Texas, the Brown Berets, La Raza Unida Party, etc. Many of these groups were militant organizations aimed at bringing equal civil rights to Mexican Americans taking a forceful approach in the struggle for civil rights, but many militant organizations such as these and others were short lived because they lost federal support (Gracia 29). Two noteworthy civil rights organizations having some influence on public policies during the early sixties in Los Angeles were the Community Service Organization (CSO) and the Asociación Nacional Mexico-Americana (ANMA).
Latinos In Action is an organization supported by the White House Initiative that focuses on empowering Latino youth to become leaders and conducting community service projects. This program originated in Utah, but was introduced to my high school at the end of my sophomore year, when a representative came to speak about the program. I was immediately engulfed and infatuated with everything that Latinos
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.
The policies implemented by the United States to strengthen the border and enforce immigration policies have led to the abuse and profiling of undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants live in constant fear of deportation and are subjected to multiple human rights violations as they are abused, exploited and discriminated against. Immigrants are racialized and stereotyped. The US government has passed laws that discriminate against undocumented immigrants, making it harder for them to live and survive in America. These laws are due to the perception that undocumented immigrants are a burden on the US economy, but on the contrary undocumented immigrants provide an economic benefit to the US, and due to the benefit they provide society
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.
For many years, unjust treatment of Mexicans and Mexican Americans has occurred in the United States. Over the years, people like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Emma Tenayuca have fought to improve civil rights and better treatment for farm workers. The textbook that I have been reading during the semester for my Chicano History class, Crucible of Struggle: A history of Mexican Americans from Colonial times to the Present Era, discusses some of the most important issues in history that Mexicans and Mexicans Americans have gone through. Some of these problems from the past are still present today. Not all of the racial problems were solved, and there is a lot to be done. I have analyzed two different articles about current historical events that have connections between what is happening today and what had happened in Mexican American History.
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
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.
Throughout my life I have contributed too many extracurricular activities such as clubs, sports teams, and volunteer groups. However my involvement in my Latinos in Action volunteer group has taught me a plethora of valuable lessons that will forever be engraved in my memory. Latinos in Action is an organization that takes minority groups in local Jr High and High Schools and guides them in going and tutoring local school children that may need extra help. We also contribute a vast of our time doing service projects such as helping at local soup kitchens, Goodwill Stores, organizing food drives, gathering gifts for the less fortunate and helping in the general community. I have participated in the organization for three years now and every
The Mexican-American War was a conflict between the United States and Mexico in which Mexico fought to defend itself from the U.S, while the Americans wanted to annex Texas and gain some more land from Mexico. This was a very important war because it determined whether the U.S. would become a powerful nation, and be on par with France, Great Britain, and Russia. Also, it determined how big the U.S. would be. At the start of the war, the president at that time was James K. Polk, and he strongly favored U.S. expansion. He, like many other Americans, believed in Manifest Destiny, which is the belief that it was the God-given right of the U.S. to spread across the continent. It was because of the Manifest Destiny that