Chicano Studies 1 Midterm

Settler Colonialism

-Second week of class in lecture

-Colonizers arriving at a place making it their permanent home, a structure and not a singular even, then find ways to justify it through culture

-Persists to this day in street signs such as Indio Muerto in Santa Barbara and Old Spanish Days Celebration

Genocide

-Second week of class in lecture

-The mass extermination of a group of people

-Occurred in California and much of the South West United States to Indigenous peoples by the government, hidden for many years, genocide across the entire American continent by Europeans/US

Old Spanish Days

-Second week of class in lecture

-Party in Santa Barbara which glorifies the Spanish Conquest of California

-Example of settler colonialism as it justifies the genocide of indigenous peoples by the Spanish through the glorification of their culture and ignorance towards the Chumash who were converted and subjugated in the Mission System

US-Mexico War

-Second week of class in lecture, We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God

-US invasion of Mexico from 1846-48, resulted in the US taking about half of Mexico’s territory through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo including California, as a result of Manifest Destiny and slaves escaping to Mexico but offically due to a fabricated story that Mexico had assaulted US troops

-Manifest Destiny a colonizer mindset, idea that the white race had to civilize from coast to coast, really an excuse to take the rich resources in the West and allow for US expansionism, became second class citizens in the US through institutional racism

Necessary Illusions

-Second week of class in lecture

-Idea by Noam Chomsky that the US-Mexico War rationale was built on a necessary illusion that Mexico had assaulted the US

-System promoted myth which justified the war to the public through Manifest Destiny yet it simply was another product of settler colonialism and aggressive US expansionism

Frederick Douglass

-Second week of class in lecture, clip

-African American free slave who fought for the extermination of slavery, fought against the US-Mexico War

-Criticized the war for being immoral, baseless, unjust, a war of Anglo-Saxon dominion and to expand slavery into free Mexico

Porvenir Massacre

-Second week of class, Youtube clip

-January 28, 1918, 15 Mexican Americans were killed and their town was burnt to the ground during the Mexican Revolution by Texas Rangers

-Hidden from the public, fostered by racism from the influx of Mexican refugees

Bracero Program

-Third week of class, lecture, Mi Familia, All They Will Call You

-Started by the US and Mexican governments as a response to labor shortages caused by WWII, hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers promised good working conditions and decent wage, yet were instead dehumanized, allowed to die, etc

-Mostly erased by governments, forgotten by children of Braceros due to traumatic experience, not often talked about, settler colonialism erased their humanity

Tim Hernandez

-Third week of class, lecture, All They Will Call You

-Mexican American author who wrote All They Will Call You, inspired by his grandfather who was a Bracero to tell the stories of the 28 who died in the El Gato Plane Crash

-Wants to fight against settler colonialism by giving a name and a voice to the 28 who were ignored by the US government and buried in a mass grave, humanizses them and gives them dignity, allows for healing to occur by telling their stories-

Jose Sanchez Valdivia

-Third week of class, lecture, All They Will Call You

-Young man from Nochistlan who followed his father into the US, deep love for baseball that continued while he was a Bracero, passed away in the plane crash

-Humanity erased by settler colonialism, buried in mass grave, given story back by Tim Hernandez

Luis Miranda Cuevas

-Third week of class, lecture, All They Will Call You

-Young man from Jocotepec, Jalisco that went to the US to afford a better life for himself, his family, and his girlfriend, wanted to be able to afford a wedding

-Humanity erased by settler colonialism, buried in mass grave, given story back by Tim Hernandez

Bobbie Atkinson

-Third week of class, lecture, All They Will Call You

-Flight attendant in the 1948 El Gato Canyon Plane Crash, married to the pilot Frank Atkinson

-Had her name published in newspapers, family knew of her death and was memorialized while the Mexican deportees were ignored, shows settler colonialism and racism

Deportee Song

-Third week, lecture, All They Will Call You

-Poem written by Woody Guthrie in 1948, turned into a song by Martin Hoffman in 1957 and popularized by Pete Seeger in the 60s, story of the El Gato Crash

-Popular folk song which was the reason why anyone really knew of the plane crash, provided inspiration for Tim Hernandez to write his books, brings up settler colonialism need to erase humanity as lyrics say that people will ignore their names and simply call them “deportees”

Hermilda Galindo

-Second week of class, lecture

-Mexican feminist revolutionary activist during the Mexican Revolution 1910s

-Fought for women’s voting rights, revolutionary woman in patriarichal Catholic Mexico, Mexican Revolution caused mass migration in the US, intersectionality as both revolutionary and feminist

Mexican Revolution

-Second week of class, lecture

-Uprising against Porfiriato in 1910, led by Zapata and Villa, violent conflict which encompassed all of Mexico and resulted in mass migration of Mexicans into US as refugees

-Resulted in racism against the refugees by American, become cheap labor force and are later deported/repatriated into Mexico due to them being blamed for the Great Depression even though many were US citizens, example of racism and colonialism, kicking them out of their own country

Mass Deportation/Repatriation

-Second week of class

-Mass deportation of 2 million Mexicans in 1930s, 60% were US citizens

-Settler colonialism as is often ignored, highly traumatic for victims as families were separated and lifes were completely uprooted, deported for being brown despite it having been Mexico less than 100 years before

Arrebato

-First week of class, 7 Stages of Conocimiento

-According to Gloria Anzaldua is a critical turning point that is usually associated with strong negative emotions dealing with pain such as divorce or death, rupture, yet moment of growth

-Causes you to question who you are and the system in which you live in, moment of self reflection and opportunity for self realization

Conocimiento

-First week of class, 7 Stages of Conocimiento

-According to Gloria Anzaldua is the ability to transform your perception of reality through questioning the status quo

-Achieved through creative acts, must try to perceive the world through others eyes, through other cultures, break settler colonialism

Mendez v Westminster

-Second week of class, lecture, documentary film

-1947 case that held that segregating whites and Mexicans in schools was unconstitutional, Mendez family moved to Orange County and despite living in school district and in close proximity to white elementary school were forced to go to a different school due to color of skin, white-passing Mexican allowed

-Example of settler colonialism through segregation and racism, segregated education system ensured that Mexicans would remain poor and cheap labor force, blocked class mobility, multi-racial coalition to challenge school district

David Marcus

-Second week of class, lecture, documentary film

-Jewish American lawyer who fought to defend the Mendez family, was a progressive in LA who married a Mexican woman and had a history of fighting for the rights of minorities

-Showed the power of multi-racial coalition, standing up for fellow minorities against a system made to subjugate

El Congreso

-Second week of class, lecture

-Spanish Speaking People’s Congress, radical league of Mexican Americans who were radical and challenged racism, capitalism, and sexism

-Intersectionality, featured Latina leaders, involved with labor unions, have to disrupt multiple systems of oppression set by settler colonialism such as race, class, and gender

Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee

-Second week of class, lecture, Una Mujer Sin Fronteras

-Formed after the death of Jose Diaz in East LA in the 40s, hundreds of Zoot Suiters (Mexican Americans) were arrested following the death and 12 were found guilty of his murder and given life sentences, resulted in Zoot Suit Riots

-Coalition was multi-racial, intersectional in class, race, and gender, example of legal system exploitation of Mexicans (settler colonialism)

Luisa Moreno

-Second week of class, lecture, Una Mujer Sin Fronteras

-Key leader in El Congreso and SLDC, upper class Guatemalan that moved to the US and sought out labor organizing to help out farm workers and other low income laborers, specifically women of color, voluntarily deported

-Despite being upper class and white passing, she dedicated her life to helping out laborers who weren’t born lucky enought to be rich, intersectionality to fight settler colonialism

Josefina Fierro de Bright

-Second week of class, lecture

-One of the leaders of the SLDC, mother had been politically involved with the Flores Magon Brothers during the Mexican Revolution, left medicine position to become an activist and used her ties with Hollywood actors to help their cause

-Female activist who also left a position of relative power to help out labor

Alice McGrath

-Second week of class, lecture

-SLDC Executive Secretary, white Jewish woman who was involved in the Zoot Suit Trials

-Intersectionality, helping out Mexican Americans despite not being one due to her understanding the plight of minorities

Chavez Ravine and Dodgers Stadium

-Second week of class, lecture and documentary

-Ravine north of DTLA, during the 40s was made up of Mexican American neighborhoods, was originally taken by the city to be redeveloped into public housing which the residents would have first pick for, eventually the lead architect for the project was defamed by the House Un-American Activites Committee, so it became the new site for the new Dodgers Stadium

-Settler colonialism, established Mexican American communities were forcibly uprooted and not compensated in order to build a baseball stadium for the benefit of mostly white fan base until El Toro Valenzuela, land displacement

Frank Wilkinson

-Second week of class, lecture and documentary

-Lead housing official for the housing project in Chavez Ravine that was fired from the project due to his alleged ties with the Communist Party which were unfounded as he refused to answer whether or not he had ever been part of the party

-Example of land displacement as was willing to destroy established Mexican American neighboorhoods yet was also a victim of the system due to his alleged ties to Communism

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

-Second week of class, lecture

-League which only included US citizens and not immigrants, didn’t oppose repatriation, mostly legal approaches to fight racism but also focused on assimiliation

-By not including immigrants and fighting repatriation, focusing on assimilation, partly feeding into system of oppression caused by settler colonialism, ignores those who need the most help and allow the colonialist to have power and justifies their existence through assimilation

Dolores Huerta

-Fourth week, lecture, Dolores documentary

-Cofounder of the UFW, fought for womens and laborers rights through the UFW with Cesar Chavez, active since the 60s

-Contributions often ignored and sidelined by Cesar Chavez due to her being a woman, shows how even in the struggle for equal rights by labor and Mexican-Americans, women’s struggles need to be highlighted, feminisim must be included in intersectional analysis and struggle

Cesar Chavez

-Fourth week, lecture, Dolores documentary

-Cofounder of the UFW along with Dolores Huerta, helped to fight for labor rights, specifically in the fields

-Is often highlighted as the leader of the movement while ignoring the contributions of Huerta due to him being a man, an example of why intersectionality is important even when analyzing labor/race movements

Senator Robert Kennedy

-Fourth week, lecture, Dolores documentary

-Senator of New York, Attorney General under JFK, campaigned for Presidency until he was assassinated in the late 60s, ally of the UFW

-Significant national ally for the UFW struggle, gave national visibility to their strike, legitimizing their struggle, advocate for civil rights

Intersectional Justice

-Second and fifth week in lecture, Dolores documentary, Unidad documentary

-Framework that seeks to understand and address how various forms of discrimination and social inequality—such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, and more—intersect and compound, creating unique experiences of oppression or privilege for individuals and groups

-Important to address all these types of discrimination which are present through settler colonialism, must fight for womens rights, labor rights, gay rights and Chicano rights together, not separately as they all intersect

Intergenerational Activism

-Fifth week of class, lecture, Walkout

-Form of social or political activism that brings together individuals from different generations to work collaboratively toward common goals. It emphasizes the importance of cross-generational knowledge-sharing, combining the perspectives, experiences, and strengths of each generation

-Important for different generations to help out each other, seen through the strength that bringing family to the East LA Walkouts brought

Grassroots Leadership Model

-Fifth week of class, Delgado Bernal article, Walkout

-Framework within Chicana/o and Latina/o studies that centers the contributions of community-based, non-institutional leaders—especially women—who may not hold official titles but play crucial roles in advocating for social justice

-Sheds light on leaders who might’ve been previously ignored due to the media focusing on men rather than women since they usually are more outspoken, yet women play critical roles through talking, organizing, etc.

EX: Paula Cristosomo

Sal Castro

-Fifth week of class, lecture and Walkout

-High school teacher that emphasized Chicano pride, culture, and history to students, encouraged them to fight for their struggle

-Part of great man narrative which focuses on charismatic speakers rather than Chicana students who were grassroots leaders and often ignored, important that feminism is highlighted in Chicano struggle due to their contributions

Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO)

-Fifth week of class, lecture and Walkout

-Government program targeting civil rights activists during the 60s and 70s

-Example of settler colonialism, government trying to fight back against minorities fighting for their rights, in Walkout they got information on the organizers, helped jail them, and turned the media against them

Brown Berets

-Fifth week of class, lecture, Walkout, Chicana Revolt article

-Militant Chicano activist group that emerged during the 1960s as part of the broader Chicano Movement, focusing on civil rights, social justice, and community empowerment for Mexican Americans, inspired by the Black Panthers

-Chicanas were mistreated, often worse than they would have been by cops and the system of oppression they were commonly fighting against, though they took leadership roles they were often sidelined and faced sexism, resulted in many Chicana activists leaving the party

Chicano Moratorium and Ruben Salazar

-Fifth week of class, lecture

-1970 protest of Vietnam War by 20,000 Chicanos, peaceful and nonviolent yet resulted in the LAPD responding with force and killing 3 Chicanos including LA Times reporter Ruben Salazar

-Example of intersectional struggle, opposing military action, met with settler colonialist violence from the police system seeking to silence their voices

Gay Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU)

-Fifth week of class, lecture, Unidad documentary

-Founded by Queer Chicanos in LA, expanding the struggle for intersectional justice, bring light to their struggle, fight for their rights

-Important to focus on intersectionality of the struggle, had mostly been ignored by white queer groups and Chicano groups focused entirely on race, focused on racism, sexism, capitalism, and queerness, opposed US intervention (modern day settler colonialism) in Central America

Laura Esquivel

-Fifth week of class, lecture, Unidad documentary

-Lesbian member of GLLU, helped found Lesbianas Unidas

-Important to focus on intersectionality of the struggle, had mostly been ignored by white queer groups and Chicano groups focused entirely on race, focused on racism, sexism, capitalism, and queerness, opposed US intervention (modern day settler colonialism) in Central America

Rolando Palencia

-Fifth week of class, lecture, Unidad documentary

-Gay leader of GLUU

-Important to focus on intersectionality of the struggle, had mostly been ignored by white queer groups and Chicano groups focused entirely on race, focused on racism, sexism, capitalism, and queerness, opposed US intervention (modern day settler colonialism) in Central America

Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino

-Fourth week of class, Presentation on UFW

-UCSB alumni who works on social justice issues, specifically labor and environmental justice

-Modern day example of someone fighting for intersectional justice

Daniel Segura

-Fourth week of class, Presentation on CAUSE

-UCSB alumni who led student efforts fo advocate for LGBT rights and labor rights, serves as a youth community organizer in Santa Maria

-Modern day example of someone fighting for intersectional justice

Fernando Martinez

-Fourth week of class, Presentation on MICOP

-Community Organizer for indigenous Mixteco laborers

-Modern day example of someone fighting for intersectional justice

Alianza Campesina

-Fourth week of class, Presentation

-Campaign for living wage for farmwojorgrkers, collaboration between MICOP and CAUSE, high cost of living, job instability, and low wages make it difficult for many farm workers to afford to live humane lifes in California

-Modern day settler colonialism, intersectional fight against it, high rates of workplace fatalities for farm workers, often ignored

Latino Threat Narrative

-Stereotype that portrays Latinos, especially immigrants from Latin America, as a threat to American society, culture, and economy, this narrative suggests that Latinos are unwilling or unable to assimilate, maintain “foreign” loyalties, and ultimately undermine U.S. cultural values and stability, it frames Latinos, especially undocumented immigrants, as a monolithic group that poses risks related to crime, job competition, and even demographic "replacement”

Internationalism

-Fifth week of class, lecture

-Believe that global issues—such as peace, human rights, environmental sustainability, and economic equity—are best addressed through collaboration across borders

-Focus on fighting US imperalism abroad, form of settler colonialism such as in the US interventions in Central America and oppositon from GLLU/Chicano Movement