Chicano 50

The Bracero Program 

Time period: 1942–1964

Who: U.S. Government + Mexican laborers

Where: U.S. agricultural fields (CA, TX, AZ, etc.)

What: Guest-worker program that contracted millions of Mexican men to work in U.S. agriculture.

How: Created during WWII labor shortages; led to exploitation, low wages, and poor living conditions.

Dates: Began Aug 4, 1942; ended 1964.

The Origins of the UFW

Time period: Early 1960s

Who: Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Filipino farmworkers (Larry Itliong), NFWA + AWOC

Where: Delano, CA

What: Formed from a coalition of Mexican and Filipino worker unions.

How: Organizing around grape strikes, community service, and nonviolent activism.

Dates: UFW officially founded in 1965.

El plan de Delano 

Time period: 1966

Who: UFW, Cesar Chavez, farmworkers

Where: Delano to Sacramento, CA

What: A manifesto outlining workers’ grievances and moral vision during the farmworker pilgrimage.

How: Written during the 300-mile march to demand justice, dignity, and labor rights.

Date: March 1966.

Definition of the term Chicano 

Time period: Popularized in late 1960s

Who: Mexican American youth activists

Where: Southwest U.S.

What: A political identity claiming Indigenous roots and rejecting assimilation.

How: Used to express pride, resistance, and solidarity during the Chicano Movement.

Crusade for Justice 

Time period: Founded 1966

Who: Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales

Where: Denver, Colorado

What: A civil rights organization advocating Chicano nationalism, education, and cultural empowerment.

How: Organized protests, youth conferences, and cultural programs.

Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez

Time period: 1928–2005; activism peaked in late 1960s

Where: Denver, Colorado

What: Boxer, poet, Chicano nationalist leader; author of “I Am Joaquín.”

How: Advocated for cultural pride, youth organizing, and political self-determination.

The Denver Chicano National Youth Liberation Conference 1969

Time period: 1969

Who: 1,500+ Chicano youth activists

Where: Denver, Colorado

What: A major conference uniting Chicano students and activists.

How: Produced El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, encouraged national Chicano unity.

Date: March 1969

El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán

Time period: 1969

Who: Corky Gonzales + conference delegates

Where: Denver Youth Conference

What: A nationalist document calling for Chicano self-determination, land rights, and cultural pride.

How: Declared Aztlán as the homeland of Chicanos and promoted community control.

Aztlan

Time period: Mythic Indigenous past; reclaimed in 1960s

Who: Chicano Movement activists

Where: Southwest U.S. (CA, AZ, NM, TX, CO)

What: Symbolic homeland of the Aztecs used as a metaphor for Indigenous ancestry.

How: Used to claim political belonging and ancestral rights.

Hijas de Cuahtemoc 

Time period: Early 1970s

Who: Chicana feminist students (Cal State Long Beach)

Where: Southern California

What: Feminist newspaper addressing sexism in the Chicano Movement.

How: Critiqued patriarchy, demanded gender equality, revived Mexica ancestor Cuauhtémoc.

The Approaches to Chicana Movidas

Time period: 1960s–1980s

Who: Chicana activists, scholars, artists

Where: U.S., especially Southwest

What: Strategies Chicanas used to challenge gender oppression and racism.

How: Grassroots organizing, cultural work, writing, protests.

Brown Berets 

Time period: 1967–1972 peak

Who: Chicano youth activists

Where: East Los Angeles, then nationwide chapters

What: A militant Chicano civil rights group inspired by Black Panthers.

How: Organized protests, anti-police brutality marches, free clinics, and school walkouts.

Chicanas within the Brown Berets 

Time period: Late 1960s–early 1970s

Who: Women members of the Brown Berets

Where: East Los Angeles & other chapters

What: Women activists who fought sexism within the organization.

How: Took leadership roles, organized schools, produced feminist critique.

The East Los Angeles Blowouts

Time period: March 1968

Who: Chicano high school students

Where: East L.A. high schools

What: Mass walkouts protesting unequal education and racist school systems.

How: Organized by MEChA, Brown Berets, and student leaders.

Dates: March 1–8, 1968.

COINTELPRO

Time period: 1956–1971

Who: FBI

Where: U.S. (nationwide)

What: Counterintelligence program targeting civil rights groups (Black Panthers, Brown Berets, AIM, etc.)

How: Surveillance, infiltration, harassment, and disruption.

The Massacre in Tlatelolco

Time period: October 2, 1968

Who: Mexican government + student protesters

Where: Plaza de las Tres Culturas, Mexico City

What: Massacre of hundreds of peaceful student activists before the Olympics.

How: Government soldiers and police opened fire on crowds.

Chicana feminism

Time period: 1960s–1980s

Who: Chicana activists, writers like Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga

Where: U.S. Southwest

What: A movement addressing racism, sexism, homophobia, and class oppression.

How: Writing, art, activism, community projects.

CASA

Time period: 1968–1970s

Who: Hermandad Mexicana, immigrant activists

Where: Los Angeles, CA

What: Immigrant rights organization advocating for undocumented workers.

How: Legal support, worker organizing, anti-deportation campaigns.

Queer Aztlan 

Time period: Concept articulated in 1990s

Who: Chicana lesbian writers (Moraga, Anzaldúa)

Where: U.S.

What: Reimagining Aztlán as inclusive of queer and trans people.

How: Critiquing heteropatriarchy in Chicano nationalism.

Queer Latino Archiving during the aids epidemic

Time period: 1980s–1990s

Who: Queer Latino activists, archivists (e.g., Horacio Roque Ramírez)

Where: California (SF, LA), NY

What: Preservation of stories, photos, obituaries, and community histories of queer Latinos affected by AIDS.

How: Oral histories, community archives, activist documentation.

Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez 

Context: A leading Chicana activist, writer, and organizer in multiple social justice movements.

Time period: 1960s–2000s.

Who: Elizabeth “Betita” Martínez.

Where: Most active in New Mexico and California.

What: Advocate for racial justice, feminism, and Chicano liberation.

How: Through writing, political organizing, and founding activist publications.

Specific dates: Co-founded El Grito del Norte in 1968.

El Grito del Norte

Context: A radical Chicano newspaper supporting land rights, feminism, and anti-racist struggles.

Time period: 1968–1973.

Who: Founded by Betita Martínez and Enriqueta Vásquez.

Where: El Rito, New Mexico.

What: Bilingual newspaper providing movement news and political analysis.

How: Published community stories, investigative pieces, and feminist critiques.

Specific dates: First published in 1968.

Houston Conference of 1971

Context: First national conference centering Chicana feminist issues.

Time period: May 1971.

Who: Chicana activists including Anna Nieto-Gómez and Alicia Escalante.

Where: Houston, Texas.

What: Gathering to define Chicana feminist priorities and demands.

How: Through workshops, resolutions, and collective statements.

Specific dates: Held May 28–30, 1971.

chicana art

Context: Artists used visual culture to critique sexism, colonialism, and representation.

Time period: 1960s–1980s.

Who: Judy Baca, Yolanda López, Patssi Valdez, and others.

Where: Primarily California and the Southwest.

What: Artworks that articulated early Chicana feminist ideas.

How: By reimagining icons, creating murals, performances, and challenging cultural norms.

Specific dates: Major works include Yolanda López’s Guadalupe Series (1978–1980).

The concept of la Jaula de Oro

Context: Concept describing the emotional and social confinement experienced by immigrants in the U.S.

Time period: Popularized in the 1980s but reflects decades of migrant experiences.

Who: Mexican and Central American migrants.

Where: United States.

What: Represents having economic stability but feeling trapped by fear, separation, and legal precarity.

How: Expressed through music, storytelling, and migration scholarship.

Specific dates: Popularized by Los Tigres del Norte 's 1984 song “La Jaula de Oro.”