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. Since the 1960’s, Latino communities have experienced the implicit and explicit effects of racism through various social institutio... ... middle of paper ... ...color, were previously active in other established Latino student organizations (e.g. M.E.Ch.A), but the homophobic ideals entrenched in them [students organizations] led to the creation and solidification of safe spaces (e.g. La Familia). These students felt that although there were other organizations that offered queer (GALA) and ethnic (M.E.Ch.A) spaces, none were directly addressing their needs as gay Latino students. As a result, the queer of color community fought an uphill battle to create a social and political safety net in “La Familia” student organization. It is evident that Mechista members were against the establishment of “La Familia,” because it would create a division in an already small M.E.Ch.A community. Santiago Bernal, a cofounder of La Familia, was recalling the alienation he felt during a M.E.Ch.A meeting, in an interview with Juan D. Ochoa:
The La Raza Unida Party began in the 1960’s as a social movement in the small South Texas town of Crystal City. Although Mexican Americans made up the majority of the population at 85% they had very little clout within the political landscape, which was dominated by Anglos. The Mexican Americans experienced no political representation and many were denied the right to vote because they didn’t speak or read English and many could not afford the poll taxes. The discrimination experienced by the Mexican Americans in this small town was comparable to the discrimination of African Americans in the Deep South, yet the brave Mexican’s in Crystal City, Texas chose to band together to generate change, awareness, and hope in creating new perspectives with respect to politics.
The Chicano Movement was a time that pressed forth for the equal opportunity of the Latino community and proved to America that Mexican Americans were a force to be reckoned with. In the documentary Latino Americans – Episode 5: Prejudice and Pride, it centralizes on the success of the oppressed community through significant leaders in that period. Union activists César Chavez, along with Dolores Huerta, playwright Luis Valdez, teacher Sal Castro, US Congressman Herman Ballido, and political activist José Ángel Gutiérrez all contributed to egalitarianism of Latinos across the nation. This documentary reflects on the importance of equal prospects within the workplace, the academic setting, and the social and political features in society.
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).
We offer the concept of companerismo an organic strategy that developed between three Latino males experiencing similar encounters, successes, and struggles. Though the bond of companerismo is unique to the context and is bounded to the experiences of the three Latino males in this narrative, we believe particular elements helped facilitate the foundation of their bond. The plan of action higher education institutions can take to help support this cultural phenomenon are situated within three broad categories: (1) recruitment and enrollment, (2) funding, and (3) space milieu.
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
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.
In the article “Academia, Love me Back”, by Tiffany Martinez, the author writes about the stereotyping by her college professor and society in general. She contends that her college professor is biased based on the comments her professor wrote on her assignment. She establishes her academic credentials, describes a biased society against Latinos, describes the racism she has encountered personally, describes her feelings of inadequacy, and makes a challenge to academia at the end. Martinez effectively communicates her arguments to academia based on her logic, organization, and style.
Hirschi’s 4 elements of the Social Bond theory best describes the Mujeres Organization. The Mujeres Organization is a club founded by a school counselor Connie Iglesias, Castro Valley High School. Iglesia’s reason for opening a club was because she saw “girls getting into fights, not succeeding at school, and even dropping out” (Bates, Pg. 99). Furthermore, the Castro Valley Teachers Association member wanted to put the girls who were at risk of dropping out to a group, mostly Latina, on a better path. This group would prevent girls from fighting, dropping out, and etc. The Mujeres Organization also focused on minority girls, therefore everyone was free to join, in order to come together and succeed at school. One of the girls, Stacy Aguilar,
In addition the articles “The Faces of Discrimination” by Fleming, Mali Michelle, and “ Moving Forward: Future Directions for Improving Institutional Support for Latino/a Students” by Caitlin J. Saladino, Magdalena Martinez demonstrate that Latino/a college student do experience some type of microaggression on their college campus. This essay will explore in greater detail how Latino College students experience microaggression and recommend various of solutions to college administrators to help Latino college students overcome this obstacle that .
I never realized the seriousness about Hispanic students questioning their identity and not attending college until I experienced it in my previous course Chicano Studies. I was very fortunate enough to have a class that demonstrated how students not taking courses related to their cultural history history become less motivated to attend college expenses and lack of motivation. Being a Chicano student is very difficult because the number of Chicano students attending college is very small and causes students to lack of motivation. STEM m...
What would it be like to wake up everyday knowing you would get bullied, mistreated, and/or abused just because of where you were born? Discrimination still exists! “Discrimination remains and there is an increase in hate crimes against Hispanics, Latinos and Mexican-Americans, as one of the perceived symbols of that discrimination, the U.S.-Mexico Border Fence, nears completion. Instead of pulling together in these difficult times, we may see a greater polarization of attitudes” (Gibson). But why are hate crimes increasing towards Latin and Hispanic aliens and what types of discrimination are occurring against them? Understanding violence towards the Hispanic and Latin alien is divided into three main classes; the difference between legal and illegal aliens, the attacks and effects, and the point of view of different people towards aliens.
I can say Hispanic, Latinos and Chicanos communities have incorporated a variations of ideas that had help our society and our education. Some of the ideas that help our society are the ways in how we change the education system throughout this years. Referring to the new ways of improvements on school programs, new education techniques, by creating different ways of teaching , adapting new forms of “English as a second language” (ESOL) classes and creating new Chicano Studies program on different schools. They could help us to identify and develop new languages, to find and know our ethnicity, and to be open-minded in our society, referring to the variation of culture and ethnicities. The new generations of immigrants students are the future
Blonde hair and blue eyes is what I dreamed for when I was a young immature, uneducated Chicana. To fit in with my Anglo friends is something I desired and wanted so bad. While they enjoyed the perks of being teenagers, I stayed in with my grandmother learning to cook, iron, clean and make sure that the men of the house were satisfied and comfortable. Growing up different is all I’ve ever known, being teased and laughed at by my Anglo friends for being an overweight brown little girl is something that I’ve had to live with for a very long time. Having to deal with this my entire life has led me to believe that nothing will ever change. Till this day people treat me like I am different, I am discriminated against because of the color of my skin and many others limit me because of my gender. All I’ve ever wanted is to feel equal and to be treated with respect.
The Chicano Student Movement East Los Angeles, brought awareness of the problems faced by barrio residents who supported the United Farm Worker’s struggle for union recognition, and better working conditions, and some examples were the land grant movement in New Mexico, school walkouts in East Los Angeles, the march of the first Rainbow Coalition of the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington, D.C, and a contingent of Brown Berets were present at the Chicano Youth Liberation in Denver also, where El Plan Espiritual de Azlan was written and the Berets organization, led to the National Chicano War Moratorium march and rally in East Los Angeles, with their main emphasis on Chicano nationalism, and by the mid-1970’s were the leading revolutionary nationalist organization of the Chicano power era, later becoming more vicious, extreme, and mostly rhetoric, which later saw its demise come to harassment and intimidation by the Los Angeles Police and the County Sheriff’s departments, and also with the help of the FBI to destroy the cause, however they also saw their own fall come from within after withdrawals from fights with LAPD and the County Sheriffs de segments of the Chicano movement battles between themselves caused the split between ranks and, so forth. this was an extremely important and very climatic and suspenseful part of the Chicano student movement, as such was the concern for Mexican Americans for the reason being that their education was becoming a serious problem and a nagging issue for everyone. The Mexican American student movement grew as dozens of organizations appeared throughout the schools that were K-12 and colleges and universities and the important thing was that teachers and administrators learned to band together thanks to ethnic ties. In April, 1969, students gathered to discuss problems and potential projects of their movement.
The Hispanic Community within the United States has been plagued by a culture of ill repute, discrimination, and blatant racism since the acquisition of California by the United States. This culture of hatred has permeated into all aspects of Mexican-American life from education to the workplace. This harsh culture and systematic discrimination of the Mesoamerican people led to the fruition of the Chicano movement. The Chicano Movement highlighted the fear of cultural disintegration, the lack of economic and social mobility, and rampant discrimination. The leaders of this movement sought to correct these discrepancies through the Chicanismo ideology. This movement was not only championed by political and vocal activists but also by artists