In Fighting Their Own Battles Summary
In the 1950s, Texas was at the forefront of two major, but very different civil rights movements—the African-American movement and the Mexican-American movement. Fighting Their Own Battles by Brian Behnken describes and compares the separate battles for rights of the two movements. People in Texas knew what was happening and newspapers reported about the different events that occurred throughout the 1950s. In hindsight, and with the help of Behnken’s book, one is able to see the subtle influences of both civil rights movements in the Texas newspapers. At the time however, these differences in strategy between the African-American and Mexican-American movements were not so easily understood. Based on Behnken’s books and Texas newspapers from …show more content…
Even though they were essentially fighting many of the same battles for equality, they never united and fought together. Behnken describes the Mexican-American movement in the 1950s as being primarily focused on fighting “for rights by positioning themselves as members of the white race in order to avoid Jim Crow.” LULAC (the League of United Latin American Citizens) had a very specific strategy for the Mexican-American civil rights movement—the whiteness strategy. This strategy, had been successful in granting other nationalities and races (“Jews, Irish, and Eastern Europeans”) the recognition of being white. LULAC hoped to adopt this approach and eradicate Mexican-American Jim Crow. Behnken describes how the Mexican-Americans with LULAC’s support were able to utilize the whiteness strategy in order to win court cases and integrate Mexican-Americans into white schools. However, Behnken also describes that the whiteness strategy of Mexican-Americans in the 1950s led to disunity between the Mexican-Americans and the …show more content…
Behnken describes that the African-American equality movement was “primarily focused on winning legal battles to eradicate some of the most offensive aspects of Jim Crow segregation.” The African-American movement wanted to totally annihilate Jim Crow and all segregation in the United States. The movement was spear-headed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which led African-Americans into a series of strategic legal battles to eliminate segregation in schools, starting with higher education, because black schools were separate, but very unequal. Behnken describes the case that was taken by the NAACP to the Supreme Court, Sweatt v. Painter, in order to show how the African-Americans were able to use the already present segregation in local schools to influence change in legislation at the national
Analysis Of Be Down With The Brown By Elizabeth Martinez
249 Words | 1 PagesIn the document, “Be down with the Brown” by Elizabeth Martinez; A cofounder of the institute for Multiracial Justice in San Francisco. Martinez, wrote the this document do to the protest by Chicanos and Chicanas against the racial educational system. The protest consisted of the students walking out of classes, also known as “blowouts.” For the Chicanos/Chicanas, the educational system did nothing in order to give them the quality education they deserved.
Comparison Of La Raza Unida And Brown Berets
741 Words | 3 PagesLa Raza Unida and Brown Berets Unions have been, and continue to be, an important force for democracy, not just in the workplace, but also in the community – locally, nationally, and globally. Unions make democracy work better. Political, labor, and racial unions have been instrumental in the lives of many people in the United Sates, and even more important, they have led to important advances in the American histoy. For many years, the Chicano people were considered minority, the situation was to change in the mid and late 1960s, as many movements developed in response to the oppression of the Chicano community. In order to effect social change, Chicanos saw the need to enter into politics and galvanize the Mexican American community.
Summary Of White Rage The Unspoken Truth Of Our Racial Divide Sparknotes
1035 Words | 5 PagesWhite Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide Book Review Draft 1 White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide is about the history of African Americans’ fight for civil rights in the United States. The author, Carol Anderson creates a meticulous time line of the struggle for civil rights starting with the passing of the 13th Amendment to the election of President Donald Trump after the only black president, President Barack Obama. Anderson goes much deeper than any normal history textbook and gives cultural context to major events for African Americans and the white reactions to these events which mitigated these gains. The author argues that with every African American civil rights victory there is a strong detrimental reaction
Comparing The East Los Angeles School Walkouts And Chicano Moratorium
1551 Words | 7 PagesAlthough the author does include the voices of Brown Berets, they are not included for the purpose of advancing representation of student resistance, but to highlight one form of mass militancy that emerged as a result of “Brown Power” unity. Torgerson states that they are the “[...] most militant of East Los Angeles Mexican-American groups. They have been accused of inciting high school students to riot, using narcotics, being Communists.”. This image places the Brown Berets in a condemnable position by drawing attention to their hostility rather than accurately illustrating what the militant group was actually about—combating discrimination and protecting the Mexican-American community from police
Civil Rights Movement Summary
1026 Words | 5 PagesProject Report: Oral History and the History of the Civil Rights Movement - Kim Lacy Rogers, The Journal of American History, Vol. 75, No. 2 (1988), pp. 567-576 The civil rights movement of the early 1960s was one of the most significant events in the modern history of the United States, one that has elicited much examination and research by historians. An era that saw the power and influence of the movement play an integral role in the eradication of legalised segregation and the disenfranchisement of African Americans. Given the historic importance of the civil rights movement, this paper aims to examine Dr Kim Lacy Rogers ‘Oral History and the History of the Civil Rights Movement’, published in the Journal of American History in 1988.
Chicano Art Movement Analysis
165 Words | 1 PagesIn the 1960’s, the United States went through a period of clarity and diversity in thought, analysis and action for people from Mexico or those who practiced the Mexican culture. Issues of deep resonance and problems both Mexican and American communities faced were brought to light through different platforms that include multiple socio-political mobilizations, art, and music all throughout the country (Cockcroft, 1993). This later ensued into battles of cultural reclamation and self-determination that combined into a national consciousness called the Chicano Movement. The Chicano Art Movement represents the attempts made by Mexican-American artists in establishing a unique artistic identity in the United States. Most of the Chicanos belonged
Race Nation And Culture By George Sanchez Sparknotes
873 Words | 4 PagesSome advocated for limited Mexican immigration into the United States since they realized that they would make it difficult for them to integrate into white society because Mexicans were typically seen as “poor, dark-skinned, and did not speak English.” This shows how Mexican officials helped shape the way migration was handled as well as how they contributed to the racial subordination they faced in the United
A War Of Self In A Separate Peace By John Knowles
657 Words | 3 PagesA War of Self In his novel, A Separate Peace, Knowles uses the story of Gene Forrester to examine a dark aspect of human nature. Gene Forrester, the novel’s protagonist, fights an inner battle of jealousy and hatred towards his best friend, Phineas. Phineas, an athlete, charismatic charmer, and fearless boy is someone that Gene wishes he could be. Gene creates an enemy out of Phineas in his mind because of the “competition” that is their friendship.
The Role Of Chicano Americans In The 1960s
588 Words | 3 PagesThe film prejudice and pride, revealed the struggle of Mexican Americans in the 1960s-1970s. In the film it showed Mexican Americans, frustration by the President discrimination and poverty. In this film I learned about the movement that led to the Chicano identity. This movement sparked, when the farm workers in the fields of California, marched on Sacramento for equal pay and humane working conditions. This march was led by César Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
The Chicano Movement Summary
626 Words | 3 Pages“In Texas and California, Mexican Americans were involved in numerous desegregation court battles,” Muñoz reports, “the first was ‘Jesus Salvatierra v. Independent School District’ in Del Rio, Texas in 1930” This was a result of Mexican American students having less resources than their white counterparts.
Chicano Movement In The 1960s
649 Words | 3 PagesIn the 1960s, the Chicano movement started to gain momentum. Chicanos began banding together to protect others while discovering their own self-identity. One source says that, a newfound gratitude for Chicano culture was detected. It goes on to state that, a “cultural rebirth was proclaimed” which had been provoked by “rediscovery” and an acknowledgement of their collective indigenous roots. The author adds that, it was a chance to uncover “a positive self-definition” (Rodriguez, "Building Aztlan: Chicano Movement Springs Back to Life").
The Chicano And Puerto Rican Movements Of The 1900s
1122 Words | 5 PagesUnity for Chicanos came in the form of an idea, of a dream, called El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán (The Spiritual Plan of Aztlán). ‘Plan of Aztlán’ became one the Chicanos signature ideas, this ‘Plan’ “sought to connect Chicanos to their indigenous past while… reminding them of the colonial implications of the Mexican-American war.” The ‘Plan’ become a method through which Mexican-Americans could be united through their shared ancestry and culture. Simultaneously, the Young Lords pushed for unity through a much more radical avenue. The Lords aimed to liberate their fellow Puerto Ricans and thus “rejected the established norms and American values…
Review Of Rodolfo 'Gonzales' Speech: The Chicano Nationalist Movement
834 Words | 4 PagesDuring the Chicano Nationalist Movement, a well-known speaker, Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales, delivered a speech titled Chicano Nationalism: Victory for La Raza. In this speech, Rodolfo Gonzales tries to unify the Latin American people within the United States by using the idea of a family and to create a new political organization for the Chicano people. This speech was a cumulation of various ideas which stemmed from his own life, the experiences of the Chicano people, and the Chicano Nationalist Movement in general. Each of these factors contributed to the context of the speech and how the ideas within the speech are presented by Rodolfo Gonzales. Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales was born to Federico and Indalesia Gonzales, two Mexican immigrants, on June 18, 1928.
Quixote's Soldiers Summary
741 Words | 3 PagesFor this book review, I am going to be talking about David Montejano’s book entitled Quixote’s Soldiers, A local history of the Chicano Movement, 1966-1981. The author’s purpose is very well explained and it is not hard to understand. The author clearly tries to explain different ideologies, individuals and organizations located in one of the Southwest’s major cities, San Antonio, Texas, during the late 1960s and early 190s. All these varieties mentioned above made possible that a movement was created called Chicano Movement, a group that David Montejano provides a deeply understanding and description of the movement during the reading of the book. Since, the city was governed by a tough Anglosocial elite that was firmly convinced in the way
The Chicano Movement: Struggle For Equality
818 Words | 4 PagesThe Chicano Movement emerged as a response to the systemic racism and oppression by white America against latino and Mexican Americans during the twentieth century. However, to understand the movement, one must analyze the gross inequities and mistreatment that Latino Americans faced during this time in America--some of which still resonate today. These issues include a lack of rights, protections, and appreciation for migrant farm workers; segregation and discrimination in education; and the unfair treatment they faced in general in American society (Muñoz). The preponderance of such systemic oppression leads to the notion that the essence of the movement was rooted in the conflict theory. Through the conflict theory, the ideological roots of the movement can be understood.
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