Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement: The Chicano Movement

The Chicano Movement, also known as El Movimiento, was one of the many movements in the United States that set out to achieve equality for Mexican-Americans. The Chicano Movement began in the 1940 's as a continuation of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, but built up strength around the 1960’s after Mexican-American youth began to label themselves as "Chicano" to express their culture and proudly distinguish themselves as Mexican-American youth. For many Americans, a Chicano was used as a demeaning term to describe Mexican- Americans, because it became identified with immigrants who are uneducated, unskilled, and poor; however a Chicano is defined as an individual of Mexican descent who lives in The United States. Chicanos wanted
to eliminate the social barricades that interfered with their success in The United States. To do so, they commenced a series of protests to eliminate discrimination of all kinds against the Latin Community.
Other civil rights movements during this time period that aimed to make a difference, such as the African-American Civil Rights Movement, inspired the Chicano Movement. Many Chicanos fought beside African Americans during this time of activism and the crusade for justice. They incorporated a vast amount of issues in their protests such as improvement in working conditions, wages, and land grants. They also sought to strengthen their education, as well as their voting and political rights.
The United Farm Workers of America, formed in the small town of Delano, California, was one of the first successful organizations that gave strength to The Chicano Movement. Cesar Chavez, a farm worker of the Delano vineyards, formed this organization. The United Farm Workers of America fought for the equality of
Mexican-American workers in the agricultural field who earned below the minimum wage and often worked in poor and dangerous conditions. Furthermore, farm workers lacked basic rights that others had. They were unable to compose labor unions, they were prohibited from collecting disability or unemployment insurance, and child labor laws did not apply to the agricultural field. From 1962 to 1965, Cesar Chavez and a small group of organizers traveled to different states and invited farm workers to join their new organization. By using non-violent tactics such as boycotts, marches, and strikes, The United Farm Workers of America attempted to rectify the working conditions of farm workers. In 1966, Filipino members of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee joined forces with Latino members of the National Farm Workers Association to form the United Farm Workers of America. Together they pushed for contracts with California growers by staging a nationwide grape boycott. People were asked to boycott grapes in support of their fight for higher wages and improved working conditions. About 17 million Americans participated in the grape boycott by not buying grapes, picketing stores that sold non-union grapes, and spreading the word about the cause. In 1970, The United Farm Workers of America achieved their goal of signing of contracts by grape companies, which provided farm workers with increased wages and benefits (McCulloch, Tony 2008). Another highpoint of The Chicano Movement was the Chicano Student Movement led by high school and college students.
The Chicano Student Movement was established to dispute unjust school conditions for Mexican Americans. The Mexican American society had the highest high school dropout rate and lowest college attendance among any other ethnic group. Many schools in The United States did not treat Mexican Americans fairly, by prohibiting them or their teachers to speak the Spanish language and not allowing them to create political or cultural groups. Chicanos were often placed in vocational training classes or classes for the mentally disabled which discouraged them from higher learning. Chicanos wanted smaller class sizes, revision of their textbooks to include Mexican American history, and better educational services and facilities. Their demands weren’t met; therefore students threatened walkouts, which they called blowouts. The largest and most impressive blowout took place in Los Angeles, California in 1968, where approximately 15,000 Chicano students walked out of schools and generated similar actions among students in several black and white schools. Los Angeles public schools are paid based on the number of students in class each day, so by walking out before attendance was taken, the students could single out the schools financially. After several more blowouts at different schools, The Los Angeles Board of Education set up a meeting to discuss their concerns. Chicano
students, parents, teachers, and community members formed the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee (EICC) as their voice for the meeting. At the meeting, The EICC asked for forgiveness for all students involved in the blowouts, as well as a meeting to speak about the essential education reform. The Los Angeles Board of Education approved the meeting and the students returned to school. The meeting was held on March 28, where 1,200 people attended, and The EICC presented their demands to The Los Angeles Board of Education, all which the Board agreed to (Soldatenko, Michael 2003). Civil right movements aim to accomplish the objectives that the groups of people are on a mission to attain. The Chicano Movement was successful in uniting the Mexican American society and helping Mexican Americans prosper educationally, socially, and politically. The problem that The Chicano Movement sought to address was the inequality they faced on a daily basis from their community. This movement was able to succeed because of the strong leadership of Cesar Chavez and other organizers who partook in this movement. Under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, the efforts of The United Farm Workers of America gave Chicanos the liberty of receiving respect in the workplace and receiving basic rights. The walkouts led by The Chicano Student Movement unified the Los Angeles Mexican American community by giving them the power to make a difference in a cause that was important to them. It was crucial for Chicanos to be able to improve school conditions; therefore they can receive a better education and be successful. Chicanos were able to be of value by fighting for what they believe was righteous. They demonstrated pride and support for their culture by holding up signs that said phrases such as "Chicano Power", "Viva La Raza", and "Viva La Revolucion". With the help of the media and their self-determination, Chicanos were empowered and able to make significant changes in distinct aspects of their lives.

Works Cited
McCulloch, Tony. 2008. “The Chicano Civil Rights Movement: Should We Know More About Cesar Chavez, the Hispanic USA 's Own Martin Luther King?.” 20th Century History Review 4(1):25. Retrieved 4, 2014 (http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A185386513&v=2.1&u=lehman_main&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=ec74094c0ab4e9eea8f2640c0fb94824).

Soldatenko, Michael. 2003. "Mexican Student Movements in Los Angeles and Mexico City, 1968." Latino Studies 1(2):284 (http://search.proquest.com/docview/222594907?accountid=27880).