Chicano Movements 1960s - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Mexican-Americans like any other minority group in the US went through a lot of challenges in all sectors including economic, social and political. They were discriminated, segregated, mistreated and unrecognized to mention a few of the many problems the Latinos were subjected to because of their ethnicity. Hence, some people among the oppressed population felt that it was time they spoke out and demand their pleas be heard by the American government. They started forming movements to protest against unfair treatment including the 1929 League of United Latin American Citizens that was campaigning against discrimination. Over three decades later, some activists and leaders in the Latino community such as Reies Lopez Tijerina founded the Chicano Movement in the 1960s with the primary objective as campaigning for the rights of the Mexican-American people (Gutierrez p. 27).

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The 1960s is considered a significant decade in the history of America, specifically the Latinos. It was during this decade that the Mexican-Americans intensified their campaign for equal social, economic and political rights and freedoms through the Chicano Movements that addressed various issues. The movement was formed at a time when minority groups in the US including the Black Americans were advocating for equal rights with the majority ethnic group in the country of white people. Some of the issues addressed in the campaigns and rallies organized by the movement's leaders included enhanced education, voting, and political rights, farm workers' rights, and restoration of land grants. Protection against discrimination was also among the many things that the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement since they depicted that it was the main reason behind their plights. Therefore, as much as they wanted their land back and restoration of other significant rights, the protesters and the advocates were emphasizing on protection as per the fourteenth amendment.

Notably, some of the various ways that the Mexican-Americans conveyed their messages were through songs and poems. Rodolfo Gonzalez, who was an activist and a leader of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, narrated about how their culture as a community had been lost through a poem called "Yo Soy Joaquin" in Latin meaning "I Am Joaquin." In the poem, the activist said that his culture had been raped implying that their traditions and customs were not recognized or respected anymore since the dignity that was there had been lost (Gutierrez p. 31). More so, it illustrated that their land was lost to them since those who ignored their existence stole it. The protesters composed numerous songs in attempts to make their pleas be heard and to illustrate that they still embraced their culture and traditions despite the hardships and suffering they were going through. Among them were records by Agustin Lira who composed activism songs and sang them during strikes and demonstrations together with Quetzal, which was a performing group. Hence, the members of the Chicano Movement were dedicated to scrutinize the outside world, particularly the whites and the government of the US, to respect and recognize their culture.

Additionally, the Chicano Movement of the 1960s was interested in something more than just lands and workers rights; it wanted a future for the children in the community. The members advocated for educational reforms such that learning institutions were part of the recruiting base as Latino students started joining the movement and even formed their groups such as the United Mexican American Students, Brown Berets, Young Lords and the Mexican American Youth Association (Gutierrez p. 33). The movement and the developed groups had a significant impact on the educational rights of the Latinos since they scrutinized the government through the Supreme Court and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare declared it was illegal to deny students education because they could not speak English. More so, an Equal Opportunity Act of 1974 was passed by the Congress offering the Mexican-Americans the chance to enroll in any public school in the US. The freedom created an opening such that Chicano studies were created and its primary aim was to educate the people about their community and culture. It was through this program that youths were taught about their rights and the need to campaign and fight for it whenever they felt oppressed.

Currently, the Latinos' population has grown massively such that they make up the largest minority group in the US and have a lot of power and influence when voting like in 1960 when they came out in large numbers to elect former President J.F. Kennedy. The power of numbers has given them a lot of political influence in the country with the only significant challenge being the issue of immigration. Illegal immigrants from Mexico affect the reputation of the Latinos such that the government considers them to be harboring criminals in their neighborhoods as they have similar indigenous backgrounds. All in all, a lot was achieved through the Chicano Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and the Latinos liberated themselves from inequalities, discriminations, and segregations from the political arena. Also, they were able to restore a significant part of their land that was taken from Mexico when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1894 to mark the end of the Mexican-American War.

Works Cited

Gutierrez, J. A. (2010). The Chicano movement: Paths to power. The Social Studies, 102(1), 25-32.