Chicano Movement of the 1960s

Mexican Americans’ fight for acknowledgment and respect for their human rights gave rise to the Chicano movement in the 1960s. Some Mexican Americans were inspired by the Chicano civil rights movement, which was sparked by Rosa Parks and strengthened by activists like Martin Luther King Jr., to create channels through which they could handle issues that were specific to that group. (191). Among the important issues were voting for one’s own self-determination, equitable pay, discrimination, and labor rights. This essay’s goal is to analyze the issues raised by the most significant Chicano activists and the people they influenced. Women, young students and men were all involved in the Chicano movement which addressed issues such as universal suffrage and self determination, women rights, education of Chicanos and most importantly, workers’ rights.

The leaders of the “La Raza Unida Party” were critical to the address of labor issues which plagued Mexican American farms workers. The Grape Workers Boycott of 1969 provides an example as it highlighted the disenfranchisement of Chicano farm-workers. The laborers worked under inhumane conditions and were prevented from unionizing in order to collectively bargain. Jose Angel Gutierrez was a key figure in the quest to end historical injustices experienced by Chicano workers. He posited that political participation through voting, political engagement and vying of Chicanos was essential in enabling change in social conditions such as unequal pay. Gutierrez posited that Mexican Americans were not able to take part in voting because their jobs entailed travelling across the country during the electoral period (414). The La Raza Unida Party was espoused as a means of enacting change through the voting of Mexican Americans who could better represent the interests of Chicano workers. At the time, Republican regimes had consistently ignored the plight of Chicanos while Democrats, although somewhat empathetic, did not contribute much to changing the legal and political regime to address Mexican Americans’ problems. The political party: La Raza Unida aimed to tackle issues such as health, housing, exploitation of immigrants and education.

The United Farm Workers, a union which was formed to tackle the plight of Chicano laborers produced some of the most influential personalities in the Chicano Movement f the 1960s. Cesar Chavez was the predominant leader of the Mexican farm workers (197). Chavez, who was against the use of violence in resolving problems preferred the use of other mechanisms such as the Delano strike which was initiated by his leadership. The striking workers sought better pay, improved working conditions and the recognition of their labor unions. Chavez engaged student organizations, religious groups and other labor unions in order to unify Chicanos in their quest for economic and social justice. Other activists who were engaged by Chavez included Gilbert Cardenas (200).

Women played a part in the Chicano movement which had a focus on family and therefore included support of women to espouse their issues. Feminists in the movement felt that the male activists did not adequately capture the plight of the Chicanas. As such, leaders such as Dolores Huerta were involved in the Mexican civil rights movement of the 1960s. Huerta was a good negotiator in the attempt to enable Mexicans to be accorded the right to unionize. A delegate for the Democrat party, she urged Mexicans to have a more favorable attitude towards the party as compared to Republicans since they made some contributions to the acquisition of rights by Mexicans; a case in point being their acceptance of the lettuce boycott that she advocated for at the Democrat Convention. She not only tackled farm worker’s issues but also other social concerns of Chicanos including bilingual education.

Groups such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund contributed to the Chicano movement. The president of the group, Vilma Martinez, addressed the grievances of Chicanos before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The key concern of Martinez was the political disenfranchisement of Mexican Americans through active means which were aimed at reducing the strength of the Mexican American vote. Willie Velasquez, who was the first coordinator of La Raza Unida contributed to the Chicano movement through his advocacy of Mexican Americans voter registration (423).

The Mexican American Youth Organization was another key contributor to the Chicano Movement. The Mission of the group was to engage the young generation of Mexican Americans at the time to not only be conscious of the historical and social injustices faced by Chicanos; but also to actively engage in the political processes in the country (386) (208). Ramsey Muniz’s 1972 campaign to become Governor of Texas was as a result of the support of MAYO and the Raza Unida. Although unsuccessful, the campaign contributed to the Chicano movement by sensitizing the Republican party of the need to include Mexican Americans in the political process. Educational reforms were part of the policies which Muniz espoused. He argued that funding for school districts was conducted in a discriminatory manner.

Conclusion

The main figures in the Chicano movement included political and civil rights activists; union leaders who were both men and women; youth who were engaged to consciously advocate for reforms through political processes and Mexican American politicians. The main issues which were addressed by the Chicano leaders during the 1960s were labor matters and political participation. Other issues such as education, housing and healthcare were also addressed by the Mexican American leaders.

Works Cited

Vargas, Zaragosa ed. Major problems in Mexican American history: documents and essays . Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.