...Maggie Rivas Rodriguez. Texas Mexican Americans and Postwar Civil Rights. University of Texas Press, 2015. The purpose of this book is to shed light on important advancements in post-war Mexican American civil rights efforts, specifically in Texas. Rodriguez highlights 3 milestones, two take place at the local level in West Texas and the third examines the creation of a national civil rights organization catering to the legal needs of the underrepresented Mexican American population of the United States. In highlighting these events, Rodriguez is aiming to educate not a specific racial or socioeconomic group, but rather to a general audience as well as to those who may already be educated in Chicano civil rights endeavors. Rodriguez succeeds in doing so in the easy to read and straight forward language of the book. It very much gives the feel of having a conversation with an elder of the community, in that it quotes many people directly and recollects certain pieces of the story from the protagonists themselves in present day. The interview transcriptions are left in Spanish as to “preserve and convey the flavor of the interview…”. The book focuses on three case studies and breaks them into two parts, Part 1: Claiming Rights on a Local Level and Part 2: Claiming Rights on a National Level. In the first chapter the reader learns of the efforts taken by Mexican American parents of Alpine, TX to integrate their children’s schools, and go as far as the capitol to do so. The...
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...The Mexican people were subject to a wide range of oppression, and became second class citizens within the U.S. Mexicans as well the indigenous people never fully assimilated into American society, Mexicans as well as the indigenous became a colonized group of people within the United States conquest. After many years of institutionalized racism, Mexicans began to develop an identity, Chicano was a way for people to identify with who they were, and became the staple to gather up the masses as well as go against an unjust system that have not only put them in a position of isolation and segregation, but have too denied them the ability to gain access to the equality of rights that have once been fought for in relation to the Treaty of...
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...The Chicano Movement began during the civil rights era with three goals, which are, rights for farm workers, restoration of land, and education reforms. Latinos lacked influence in the national political arena before the 1960s. That changed when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, this established Latinos as a significant voting bloc. After Kennedy was sworn into office, he appointed Hispanics to posts in his administration but he also considered the concerns of the Hispanic community. Mexican Americans began demanding that reforms be made in labor, education, and other sectors to meet their needs. Chicano radicals began demanding that the land is given to Mexican Americans during the civil rights era. They believed that it constituted...
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...dedicated to a school in Texas (Rozeff, Valley Morning Star). Many acknowledged his sacrifice of safety to his community. Only a year after being named Alternative Ambassador to the [United Nations] in 1967, he became the U.S. commission on civil rights. He was also awarded the nation’s highest honor [to a civilian], the Presidential Medal of Freedom (Legislation Introduced). His great leadership allowed him to achieve accomplishments that were out of reach to Mexican Americans. On “September 12, 1989, [Dr. Garcia] Received the ‘Hispanic Heritage Award’ by the National Hispanic Leadership Conference [in] Washington, D.C" (Memorial Foundation). It...
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...85 years old today. After his death in 1993 an abundance of coverage assumed that the Unite Farm Workers would not survive the tragedy. The Chicano movement began during the Civil Rights era with three main goals which included the restoration of land, rights for farm workers and developments in education. Prior to the 1960’s Latinos had no influence when it came to the national political arena. There was a complete turnaround in the 1960’s when the Mexican American Political Association worked to elect President John F. Kennedy, creating Latinos as a significant voting alliance. After Kennedy won the election he showed his appreciation towards the Latino community by assigning Hispanics to posts in his administration and he also took in consideration the concerns of the Hispanic community. Latinos, mainly Mexican Americans began demanding and were very persisting towards the reforms made in labor and education to meet their needs. Under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, the Chicano movement in the 1960's used economic pressure rather than violence to pursue civil rights for Mexican-Americans. The fight during the 1960’s to secure unionization for farm workers is the most well-known battle for Mexican Americans. Chicanos were active members of the Mexican-American community who wanted Mexican-Americans to be proud of their cultural heritage. Cesar Chavez was inspired by Ghandi and looked for ways to find non-violent methods, including strikes by farm workers and a general boycott...
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...[Type the company name] | [Type the document title] | [Type the document subtitle] | | [Type the author name] | 4/29/2014 | This document is about The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which focuses on the publication “Walls and Mirrors” by David Gutierrez and the case of "NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation" | The Civil Rights Act of 1964 This act aimed at ending the segregation and banning the discrimination for employment in public places based on race, color, religion, sex or the national originality of a person. This legislation is taken to be an achievement of the civil right movement. After the civil war slavery was abolished and an equal voting right was given to all persons which lead to this act. Since its establishment it has been expanded to include the disabled, women in collegiate athletics and the elderly within its definitions. (History.com, 2010) Various views examined: Timothy Minchin During the 1960s and 1970s the textile industry moved through a major change out of which the visible change was seen in the increased number of black Americans in the workforce. According to the Timothy Minchin this all happened due to the occurrence of civil act 1964. Before the presence of that act the number of black Americans working in the workforce was as low as 3.3% but after the act was launched the percentage increased to the 25%. (Minchin, 1999) Although the discrimination reduced to a little extent and due to the inserted pressures by the government...
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...Bobby Thrush-Louis AMH2020 Depression and New Deal Minorities 4/14/15 At the end of the 1920s, the United States was the largest economy in the world. With the destruction brought by World War I, Europeans struggled while Americans flourished. Then, in the flash of darkness, everything went downfall. The stock market crash of 1929 was a snowball effect that put us into the worst crisis in history. But then, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sparked an idea, the New Deal, it was the set of federal programs launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after taking office in 1933, in response to the calamity of the Great Depression. The new deal had four major goals and achievements: Job creation, investment in public works, civic uplift, and obviously economic recovery. The new deal stabilized banks and all the financial mess from the stock market crash. One in four Americans, were out of work by 1933. The new deal created agencies that would aid jobs to millions of people and this also organized the rights for workers to organize unions. The New Deal built transportation landmarks and public landmarks that would help to bring back America. There was more positives than anything in the new deal; in addition, the new deal improved the lives of ordinary people and reshaped the public outlook. New Dealers and the men and women who worked on New Deal programs believed they were not only serving their families and communities...
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...Culturally Competent Care for Mexican-Americans Terry A. Stevens Grand Canyon University: NUR 502- Theoretical Foundations for Nursing Roles and Practice January 13, 2016 Culturally Competent Care for Mexican-Americans For centuries nursing has been a dynamic, this is constantly evolving and adapting in response to a wide range of stimuli. A recent circumstance that has influenced nursing considerably is the consumer mandate for culturally competent care in an increasingly diverse, multicultural society. Although Euro-American culture has reign superior in the United States, the nation has shifted to a conviction where various ethnic, racial, and religious groups thrive in a single society. As a result, the importance of culturally competent care and understanding cultural differences is crucial for the nursing profession. This manuscript focuses on the Mexican-American culture. This particular culture was selected because Mexican-Americans represent the largest and fastest-growing minority population in the United States (Eggenberger, S.K., Grassley, J. & Restrepo E., 2006). Furthermore, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the United States. The prevalence of the Mexican-American population suggests the need for nurses to become more accustomed with Mexican-American culture and values. The purpose of this document is to promote nurses’ awareness of culturally constructed concepts of the Mexican-American culture in order to provide culturally competent...
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...Mexicans are the strongest race, there can be but we just don’t know it. We could devour and conquer the country if we all stood together. Our ancestors went through so much trouble to thrive for a better life and future. They came from different parts the country to better their lives, but most of all to get their kids to a better start. The sociocultural approach is pertained in the Mexicans’ movement because of the suffering of their time; which led them to pursue a better life style. Every Mexican family was aiming to start a new life to better their future. Their dream was “AMERICA”, the most wonderful, beautiful place in the world. Were you could be one, be free, create your future, but most of all to have a new start. The more difficult...
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...My Mexican American Heritage Ethnicity is extremely important to my family. I identify most with Mexicans, because I lived with my Grandmother most of my life, and she taught me so much about our ethnicity. I learned about the culture, the food, and the language. I looked up to her for so much, and learned everything I could about our heritage. There were also things I did not learn from her, and lately I have been learning so much about our people. Immigration to the United States started sometime during the 1800s. In 1840, the boundaries of Texas and Mexico were so different from what they are now. During the war from 1846 until 1848, Mexicans fought for the land they claimed as their own. The land from Texas to California was the place they called home and fought so hard to keep this area. After the defeat of Mexico, almost 529, 000 square miles were given to the United States and 75,000 Mexicans became American citizens because of the loss (Schroeder, 2007). Discrimination was also a problem for Mexicans. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed allowing Mexicans the same rights as Anglo American citizens, but never obtained those rights. Their right to vote was taken by giving them a poll tax to pay and literacy tests to show their ability to read English before they could vote. The Mexicans who refused to pay the taxes or take the tests were beaten, killed, and threatened. The U.S. courts also began to take their lands because their deeds written in Spanish were...
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...point above African Americans. Asian Americans earned slightly more than the 5 percent of their population share”(Andrina D. Kugler). Latinos are at the low end of income distribution and are more likely to be unemployed and thus have no income than any other group except African Americans. This all relates to a movie called Cesar Chavez produced by Diego Luna. Cesar Chavez is a incredible edge of the seat watching film based on a true story of the real American hero Cesar Chavez who sadly passed away at the age of 66. Naratating the birth of a modern American movement, Cesar Chavez tells the story of the legendary civil rights leader and labor organizer torn between his duties as a husband and father and his commitment to securing a living wage for farm workers. He belived that every American had the right to bring about social change within the system which is why he started an organization to boycott for farm workers who suffered from inequality. Also, Chavez embraced non-violence as he encountered greed and prejudice in his struggle to bring self-respect to people. One scene in the film reminds me of similar situation that I went through. One of his enimies in the film said “whos this Ceasar Chavez” and the guy said “I heard he’s Mexican”. Mexican have been labeled in so may ways. One day a neighbor of mine moved and he took my garbage can because he needed extra and I asked him who took my can and this guy said “I don’t know there were some Mexicans around her earlier”....
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...Chicanos Many Mexican-American children face uncertainty when creating their own unique identity. Chicano's experience many negative stereotypes placed on thei culture by American society. Some however are able to overcome these generalizations and do not give up hope for a better future . American History, Eleven and Pocho each have a protagonist that experiences negative stereotypes placed on their Chicano culture however none of them give up up of being accepted into American society even in the face of such adversity. In American History, Elena, the protagonist seeks to be accepted to American Middle class and even though she experiences many negative stereotypes placed on her culture, she does not give up hope for a better future. From her project housing, she sees a boy named Eugene who has just moved into the house next to Elena's building. Eugenes house represents the American middle class to Elena. She describes the house as...
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...an unfortunate and devastating aspect of World War II (WWII) suddenly saw the small town of Three Rivers, Texas thrust into the national spotlight. The untimely death of Private Felix Longoria, a hero and patriot became the symbol of Mexican Americans, while his story, The Longoria Affair provided proud Mexican Americans a purpose to unify and expand their struggle for civil rights in the decades to follow. The far reaching impacts would go down for many as the turning point in history for the civil rights of Mexican Americans, while for others involved, it became a cornerstone to some very powerful political careers. Three Rivers The small South Texas town of Three Rivers, just 100 Miles from the Mexican border was like many towns across the country that shaped itself along a racial divide. There were clear signs of segregation between the towns Anglo Saxon community and its Hispanics residents and this was even evident down to the street names used respectively on each side of town. The unwritten rules within racially divided towns often were born from the heart of discrimination and could often point to the underlying violation of civil rights. Evidence of such acts was often subtle but it was commonly known that a Mexican American for example could not purchase a home within the Anglo Saxon community. Three Rivers on the contrary also had residents that were very up front and vocal with their bigotry and hatred, but it was the deep under current of discrimination...
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...LA Born in East LA is a story of Mexican descent that accidentally gets caught up in an Immigration raid at the factory that his brother works at. While we were watching the movie there was some components of Chicanos studies being perpetrated. Those components are how Mexicans are treated as second-class citizens, racial profiling and getting low pay work. This movie points out the problems caused by an immigration policy that makes everyone of Hispanic origin suspicious until proved otherwise. In the movie, Rudy pick up his cousin Javier at a factory. Rudy arrives shortly before immigration officials raid the factory looking for undocumented workers. But once they got there they was racial profiling everybody that was a Mexican, including Rudy who is an American citizen; Because he is carrying no identification, and his mother and sister are not available to verify he is a US citizen. Do to this Rudy is deported with the undocumented workers to Mexico. This issue is still going on today with Arizona. They are living in the past by discriminating against everyone that is Mexican descent as illegal immigrates, regardless if they are U.S documented citizens. President of Mexico, Calderón said “Arizona new immigration law, gives the police the right to stop anyone they suspect is an illegal immigrant, "opens the door to intolerance, hate, discrimination and abuse in law enforcement” (Arizona Immigration Law Encourages Police Abuse, Says Mexican President). Rudy meet jimmy outside...
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...vast majority of Mexicans, Texas was first claimed by the Spanish, and later declared its own independence in 1836, seceding from Mexico to become the Republic of Texas. This newfound independence was short-lived however, in 1845, the United States government decided to annex Texas in order to create a new state for the growing country. Although at the time Texas’s population was still dominated by Mexicans, slowly whites began to migrate to Texas to take advantage of fertile, cheap land, perfect for ranching and agriculture. This growing number of whites brought many problems among the native Mexican people; these will later be explored in this essay. Mexico did not take well to Texas’s secession and the United State’s recent annexation; consequently they saw the state as a rebel territory. From 1846 to 1848, the Mexican/American war was fought; ultimately, the United States won, but it did not put a stop to the localized conflicts and battles still being fought between Mexicans and the immigrating whites. Ben Johnson, author of Revolution in Texas, explores the revolution following the conclusion of the Mexican/American war. Johnson speaks of a different revolution, separate from the original war, a revolution that was fueled by racial, land, cultural, and border disputes. When the railroad finally reached Texas in 1904, this sparked a massive influx of white settlers that only fueled the growing dissent among Mexican rancheros and farmers. Whites and Mexicans clashed over land...
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