3. Historical Context
Up until the 1960’s, Mexican-Americans had endured decades
of discrimination, particularly in the U.S. West and Southwest.
The main focus in the beginning was to convince the federal
government to honor the Treaty of Guadalupe 1848 which
ended the 2 year Mexican-American war and ceded 55% of
Mexican territory to the U.S, the treaty was supposed to
guarantee protection of property and civil rights of Mexican
nationals living within the new boundaries of the United States.
Over time the Chicano Power Movement gave a voice to
people surrounding many additional issues including:
• Restoration of land grants
• Farm workers rights
• Better education
• Voting and political rights.
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4. Beginning
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“The Chicana-Chicano movement emerged in 1965
when Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta launched their
great boycott through the United Farm Workers union.”
(Redd, 2021)
In 1962, National Farm Workers Association was
formed by Chavez and Huerta
On September 8, 1965, more than 800 Filipino farm
workers went on strike against 10 grape vineyards
around
Delano, CA. Larry Itliong and Ben Gines led the
strike, which lasted 5 years.
The Leaders
Cesar Chavez
Dolores Huerta
Larry Itliong
Gilbert Padilla, and other farm organizers
Rodolfo Gonzales
San Jose Chicano Rights March — Cultural Heritage
Center "Fiesta de las Rosas"
5. Main Objectives
The main objectives for the movement were restoration of the
land, rights for farm workers, and education reforms. These
were the things that were affecting them the most, as many
Chicanos at the time were farmers. They wanted the land back
that was promised to them as well. An example of them
fighting for their land can be found in a three day march led by
Reies Lopez in 1966. The march went from Albuquerque, New
Mexico, to the state capital of Santa Fe. When they arrived to
their location, the leader of the march gave the governor a
petition demanding an investigation into the Mexican Land
Grants. They argued that the United States annexation of
Mexican land was illegal and that they have a separate state
for Mexican American peoples. They were also fighting for
education reforms because they were segregated from white
children in schools and their dropout rates were much higher
due to discrimination within the education system.
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6. Strategies and Tactics
In partaking to make action happen the UFW (United
Farm Workers) held strikes, boycotts, protests,
marches, and held speeches that followed with lawsuits
already in place. Support from all around the United
States and Canada was seen.
By February 1966, 97 cities boycotted
September 1968, may of Minneapolis asks citizens
to support the boycott.
January 1975 the MLK Farmworker fund sues 30
major growers $6 million for not living up to wage
agreements.
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
7. Major Events/Milestones
Kennedy taking office was something that I found to be a milestone in the movement, since the Mexican American Political Association fought to get him into office. In
return, President Kennedy put more Mexican Americans into political positions, giving them more power in politics and more representation.
The Mendez v. Westminster Supreme Court in 1947 was a court case that prohibited segregating Latino children from white children in schools. This helped Mexican
American children gain better education and better opportunities.
The Hernandez v. Texas court case in 1954 ruled the 14th amendment guaranteed equal protections for all racial groups, not just white and black people, which further
benefitted Mexican American children and students.
In 1966, Reies López Tijerina led a three-day march from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Santa Fe, where he gave the governor, a petition requesting an investigation
into the Mexican land grants. He argued that the annexation of Mexican land was illegal and wanted a separate Mexican American State as a way of reclaiming their
land.
In Delano, California, a union launched by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta went on a national boycott of grapes starting in 1965, then in 1970 they won and grape
farmers signed agreements acknowledging UFW asa union.
School walkouts in Los Angeles(1968) and Denver(1969) protested Eurocentric curriculums, Spanish being banned, the high rates of dropouts for Mexican American
students, and other forms of discrimination tha twere still occurring for them in schools.
The Equal Opportunity Act in 1974 implemented more bilingual education programs in schools, which helped to normalize speaking the Spanish language and educate
all students in a more inclusive way.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund was formed in 1968, which formed with the goal of protecting the civil rights of Hispanics.
The First National Chicano Conference occurred in Denver in the year 1969. This declared their desire for control and independence for Chicano people and also
replaced the term Mexican with Chicano in the conference, which changed the name of the movement to what it is now.
The political party La Raza Unida, or the United Race, formed to bring important issues for Hispanics to light in national politics.
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9. Intersectionality
The Chicano movement was intersectional.
According to History.com leaders of the Chicano
movement pushed for change in multiple parts of the
American Society. From Labor rights, education
reform, and land reclamation. They called the
Chicano power movement “a movement of
movements”. The Chicano movement saw that there
were a lot of problems and decided to do something
about it. They saw that the farmers were struggling
with getting their land back, and that the labor rights
were not okay. One of the leaders Cesar Chavez had
experienced the horrible conditions of farm work
firsthand. History.com goes on to further explain why
Cesar Chavez is fighting for labor rights, education
reform, and land reclamation.
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Cesar Chavez with demonstrators
10. Global Components
There was not an obvious global component in the
Chicano Power Movement, but the movement did
gain support in it’s boycotts and protests all across
the US, Canada, and support from Latin America.
The movements biggest supporters were in the U.S.
West and Southwest.
Additionally, the movement coincided with the black
power movements of the 1960’s, which helped to
gain national attention.
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
11. Movement Outcome
The outcome of the Chicano Power Movement was a
good outcome. The Chicano Movement has won
many reforms, such as:
The creation of bilingual and bicultural programs
in the southwest.
Improved conditions for migrant workers.
The hiring of Chicano teachers.
More Mexican-Americans serving as elected
officials.
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12. Modern Day
The movement today still needs work in the
education aspect, with some schools still attempting
to gain access to courses that will help teach an
appropriate curriculum involving Mexican-American
studies.
With Arizona banning the teaching of Mexican-
American studies.
Primarily, teachers in some areas to be white, so
the lack of representation can reflect upon
students grades and graduation rates.
Acceptance being difficult for Chicanos, neither
being accepted by Mexico or America.
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
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POWER
MOVEMENT
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Trist, et al. (2022). Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. National Archives. Retrieved
November 9, 2022.
Carrillo, K. J. (2020). How the Chicano Movement championed Mexican-American
identity. History.com.
Redd, Kandace. (2021) El Movimiento: A Brief History of the Chicano Movement |
Race and Culture. Abc.com.
Vara-Orta, Francisco. (2018). 50 years in, why the fight for Mexican-American studies
in schools is still in its early stages. Chalkbeat.org
Gandhi, Lakshmi. (2020). 5 Latino-Led Labor Strikes That Championed Rights for
American Workers. History.com
Anastas, Katie. (2015). Mapping UFW Strikes, Boycotts, and Farm Worker Actions
1965-1975. Washington.edu
This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY-SA-NC