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Chicano and black movements
Chicano movement
History of the chicano culture
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More than a century of prejudice against one of the largest minority residing in the United States that continues today. To these days Hispanics are targets of discrimination and are not offer equal opportunities in jobs and education. The roots of discrimination go back to the end of the Mexican War when thousands of Mexicans became American citizens overnight. The sign of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo not only transfer land to the United States but also the people that live there before it became territory of the United States. These people began to suffer from discrimination in their owl land. Their sons and daughters did not have better luck because even thought they were born in the United States therefore they are American citizens also continue to suffer from discrimination because of their background. After more than three generation of being born in America Chicanos decided to revolt. The Chicano movement bloomed in the 1960s when the generation was tired of the racial discrimination and decides to fight for their rights. They created organizations to help Chicanos, organize walkouts to protest against inadequate learning environment and they protested against unequal opportunists in jobs. "The United States of America and the United Mexican States animated by a sincere desire to put an end to the calamities of the war which unhappily exists between the two Republics and to establish Upon a solid basis relations of peace and friendship, which shall confer reciprocal benefits upon the citizens of both, and assure the concord, harmony, and mutual confidence wherein the two people should live, as good neighbors." The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was signed at the end of the Mexican War, was implemented to give t... ... middle of paper ... ...ors and the improper learning environment led to high rate of school drop out which led to many Chicanos work in low class job and eventually led to the believe that Chicano are only good to work in low paying jobs. Tired of the discrimination at school in 1946 Gonzalo Mendez and four more parents as citizens of the United States and on behalf of their kids and all the other students follow a suit to cdhallange segregation at school. The Mendez v. Westminister School District resulted in the banning of segregation in the school system. Despite the resolution of 1946 in the case Mendez v. Westminister in the 1960s Chicanos were still attending school that have more than 50% Chicanos. Tired of being segregated the student organize and became active in aseries of walkouts that took placed in 1968 to protest against unequal conditions in East Los Angles school districts.
In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s there were many issues that involved racial segregation with many different communities. A lot of people did not took a stand for these issues until they were addressed by other racial groups. Mendez vs Westminster and Brown vs The Board of Education, were related cases that had to take a stand to make a change. These two cases helped many people with different races to come together and be able to go to school even if a person was different than the rest.
Immigration is a large aspect of American history. In the book Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez, we are able to see the struggles of one Hispanic boy immigrating to the United States from Mexico. Many of the people in the community that Francisco lived in didn’t really accept Hispanic people. It was really depressing that he would make friends, go over to their house and their parents wouldn’t let him come over again, simply because he was Hispanic. In Diversity Matters the text states, “Unique stresses created by the process of immigration to another country and discrimination faced in the new country can create psychological distress for many immigrants” (Spradlin 126). During this time in America, there was still a lot of discrimination going on not only with Hispanics, but other minority races like African Americans. This really goes to show how far our country has come over the years. There is still a long way to go, but I think that if people are more educated and aware of the discrimination people face on a daily basis they will be more open-minded. The United States is becoming more open to diversity, but first we will look at the struggles of one Hispanic boy growing up here illegally in Breaking Through.
The 1960s was a time of very unjust treatment for Mexican Americans, but it was also a time for change. Many were starting to lose hope but as Cesar Chavez once said, “si se puede”. The chicano rights movement was a movement that started after World War II when Mexican Americans decided it was time to take back their rights and fight for equality. With many successes there were also some failures, but that did not stop them from fighting back for what they deserved. Chican@s of all ages in the US faced many issues due to their race in which included, but weren’t limited to, unequal education, political power, and working conditions.
Latino grassroots politics in the academic realm has been considered as predominantly Chicano in nature. However, the geometry of this academic sector is no longer one dimensional, due to the formation of a Chicana feminist consciousness; the rise of an identified gay community within the Chicana/o student populace; and the emergence of “Latinos” in era of Chicanismo, The abrupt growth of Latinos (e.g. Spanish speaking of Mexican, Central or Latin American decent) in the United State’s educational system led the general population to characterize them as subjects on the cusps of political power and influence. But this widespread depiction of Latinos as an untapped potential is intrinsically linked to an impression of civic cohesion within the Latino student population. Although there is a correspondence between these parties in terms of the alienation they have felt and the discrimination they have endured throughout their academic careers, there is a minimal collective effort in confronting against their oppressive status. This is mainly a result of conflicting ideologies and social agendas within the Latino student community, as well as the relegation of Hispanic subgroups into the lower echelons. Latino students, nevertheless, have demonstrated their capacity, when both Chicanos and the marginalized Hispanic subgroups join efforts to reach a communal objective. This debunks the historical notion that Chicano students are the only group of Hispanics in the academic sphere that have been actively challenging the processes of social exclusion, and also displays the capacity of a collaborative effort.
The 1960’s comprised of many different movements that sought the same goal of achieving equality, equality in means of: political, economical, and social equality. Two similar movements emerged during this era that shared the same ideologies: the Chicano and the Black Power Movement. Both shared a similar ideology that outlined their movement, which was the call for self-determination. The similar experiences that they had undergone such as the maltreatment and the abuse of power that enacted was enacted by the dominant Anglo race helped to shape these ideologies. Despite their similar ideology, they differed in how they achieved this goal, by either obtaining political participation or going to the extreme as using force to achieve their goals and moving to literally governing their own selves. Although the Chicano and Black Power Movement sought for self-determination, they differed in the tactics they used to obtain this goal.
During the 1970’s, Mexican Americans were involved in a large social movement called the "Chicano movement." Corresponding with the great development of the black civil rights movement, Mexican Americans began to take part in a series of different social protests in which they demanded equal rights for themselves. Composed mainly of Mexican American students and youth, these activists focused on maintaining a pride for their culture as well as their ethnicity to fuel their political campaign. Left out of this campaign initially though were Mexican immigrants.
Imagine seeing 10,000 of your classmates walking out of your school because they wanted a better education - a better way of life. In the 1960s’ Chicano students were being “pushed out”(Esparza) of school or being pushed towards vocational programs. East L.A was home to schools were “one out of every four Chicano’s completed high school”(Esparza). Instructors and the school board alike did not have an interest in helping Chicanos finish school to become someone other than a laborer and was expected of them to keep being a laborer. In “Taking Back the Schools”, Sal Castro a high school counselor claims, “I think the bottom line is the lack of concern of the teachers towards the kids and whether the kids were really getting an education or not...the reality set in that the teachers weren’t really concern for the kids.”(Esparza).
Each and every day is hard to live through since whatever that can happen to my family absolutely terrifies me. Being a Chicana in the late 1960s hasn’t been a bed of rose petals, but I’m seizing every opportunity America will grant me. One of the biggest challenges is arriving home one day and my family is no longer there and they’re deported back to Mexico. Another huge obstacle is discrimination, we’re often called demeaning terms by complete strangers and it’s difficult to understand why or how they could be so cruel to someone they don’t know. It’s been tough to also learn a whole new language than the one I had been accustomed to. English is difficult with their pronunciations and strange spelling
A significant part in being Chicano is embracing your roots and fighting for your rights. Chicano culture was at its peak in the 60’s and 70’s when Chicanos were exhausted of being oppressed. Chicanos young and old, decided that it was time to take a stand by not only expressing their feelings but their pride. This inspired the rise in Chicano art coming out at that time as well as a bunch of sayings going around like “Brown pride” and “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us”. Most of my mom’s side identify as Chicano, especially the ones that were growing up at that time. They appreciate the movement, the art, and the lifestyle. In fact, I know that at least one of my tias participated in the school walkouts for Chicano rights. When I’m at a family party, I still notice that Chicano pride even in my older cousins who were born years after the peak. I understand that to some, Chicanos are perceived as cholos. There are some but not all, but all the older ones do show off their pride as I’ve seen.
The chicano movement fought to stop the exploitation of Mexican american migrant farm workers, Mexican Americans were taken advantage of by keeping their wages low so that they stay well below poverty level, children whose parents were migrant workers were limited to three years of education at a time, also they were exposed to poisonous pesticides and the harsh sun for long periods at a time leaving them with many medical problems and being unable to pay for treatments.
In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico in an attempt to acquire the disputed Rio Grande. It was after the US annexation coupled with failed efforts to purchase the territory from Mexico. The war went on for close to two years. By the end of this period, the US was divided on whether or not the merits exceeded the demerits. The Congress, for example, debated about how much was enough territory for the US to acquire when the war ended. Eventually, the US and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty provided an understanding between the two governments. This paper will analyze the effects of the agreement about the welfare of the Mexican people.
In February 2, 1848, the final armistice treaty Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, through which the United States government got the access to entire area of California, Nevada, Utah plus some territory in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming. As a compensation, the United States government paid 18.25 million dollars to Mexico.( Pecquet, Gary M., and C. F. Thies. 2010) However, apart from the death of people, Mexico lost half of its territory in this war, which initiate Mexican’s hostile towards American. In addition, after the Mexican-American war, there was an absence of national sense in Mexican, which had a negative effect on the unity and development of the country.
Mexican Americans have been in this country longer than many groups of people. Although, they have been here longer, whites took thier land from them. Along with taking their land from them, they took all the pride that the Mexicans Americans had. It seemed that way until they started fighting for their rights in the early nineteen hundreds. Treaties were made that gave land rights to them and speeches were made by political leaders deeming this countries actions unjust. However, the treaties were ignored and the speeches were ploys to gain votes. Many Mexican American leaders noticed that their people were mistreated and walked all over by the anglo government.
Cavin, Aaron. "Blowout! Sal Castro & The Chicano Struggle For Educational Justice."Journal Of American Ethnic History 34.2 (2015): 127-128. America: History & Life. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
For a long time, feminism has failed to include the issues of Latina women. When the feminist movement began, it focused on the issues of one specific group: white, American, middle-class women; therefore, it excluded Latinas, and women of color in general. Latina women realized that they needed to stand up for themselves because if they did not do it, then no one would. Mainstream feminists were not acknowledging their issues; thus, it pushed the need for Latina feminism. Without Latina feminism, Latina issues would not have came to light and would be ignored by many, even non-Latina women. Even though women were fighting for their rights, they seemed to lack the inclusion of all women of any color, ethnicity, race, and class.