Chicano Studies 1

Settler Colonialism

a form of colonialism where settlers assume control of land and resources, displacing Indigenous populations. It differs from traditional colonialism by establishing permanent settlements and seeking the erasure of Indigenous identities. This process often involves the claiming of land for agriculture, development, and resource extraction, leading to long-term displacement and marginalization of native communities. Settler colonialism imposes a new social order, often justifying violence against Indigenous peoples to reinforce dominance and control.

Settler Gaze

a perspective that perpetuates the normalization of settler colonialism, often disregarding Indigenous experiences and histories. It involves viewing land and resources through a settler's lens, often prioritizing settler interests over Indigenous rights and cultures.

Toypurina

A prominent Native American woman leader from the Tongva tribe, known for her resistance against Spanish colonial rule in California during the late 18th century. She led a rebellion against Spanish missions, advocating for the rights and autonomy of her people.

1824 Chumash Revolt

A rebellion started by the Chumash natives that were being over worked and underfed by the Christians. The Chumash were being mistreated while working under the Spanish for their missions and they decided to strike a rebellion against them while they had inferior weapons.

Mexican Repatriation/Mass Deportations (1930s)

There was a large wave of Mexican immigration from Mexico to the United States due to the living conditions for lower class Mexicans. This caused the "Brown Scare”, which was fear of the Mexican immigrants. US starts “repatriation” which is essentially just forced self-deportation against the Mexican immigrants and deports half a million.

Gloria Anzaldúa (Arrebato)

A queer Chicana poet, writer, and feminist theorist. She is the author of several books of poetry, nonfiction, and children’s fiction. Her book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987) and her essay “La Prieta” are considered groundbreaking works in cultural, feminist, and queer theories. 'Arrebato' refers to a sudden, intense, and often disruptive moment of insight which can lead to profound personal or societal transformation, often discussed in her work as a tearing open of consciousness.

Latino Threat Narrative

A framework that frames Latinos/as/x as an invading force that poses a threat to the cultural, economic, and national security of the United States. This narrative often casts them as criminals, undeserving immigrants, and a drain on societal resources, thereby justifying punitive policies and discrimination. This mostly started with how the “brown scare” was perceived by the government and people.

Precarity

A state of existence characterized by uncertainty, insecurity, and vulnerability, often concerning economic stability, employment, and social rights. Chicanos have undergone a state of precarity as they might have unstable employment, low wages, or exploitative labor conditions. Undocumented chicanos may be vulnerable to deportation or limited access to public services and protections. “A Better Life” is a prime example of this.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Ended the Mexican-American War, transferred vast lands to the U.S., and transformed thousands of Mexicans into U.S. residents overnight. Though it promised protection, most faced discrimination and dispossession — shaping the historical struggles and identity of Mexican Americans for generations.

Indio Muerto/Hutash Street

Street name in Santa Barbara that means “Dead Indian”. The name was considered highly offensive and will be renamed to the word “hutash”. This is a Chumash word for “Mother Earth”. 

Mexican Revolution

A fight against power and inequality. This revolution was led by key historical figures like Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. This was a very violent revolution that forced over a million lower class Mexicans to migrate to the US. These immigrants formed the modern Chicano population.

Hijas de Cuauhtemoc

A revolutionary feminist organization founded during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) to oppose the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. They engaged in many forms of activism to promote the removal of Diaz. As a feminist organization, they also sought to connect revolutionary struggle to radical social changes for Mexican women.

Madison Grant (Passing of the Great Race)

An early 20th-century American eugenicist and author of The Passing of the Great Race (1916), a book that argued for the superiority of Northern Europeans and warned against racial mixing. This book helped justify the Immigration Act of 1924, which severely restricted immigration from Eastern Europe and Asia.

Lemon Grove Incident

A landmark case in which Mexican American parents in California successfully challenged school segregation. The San Diego court ruled in their favor, making it the first successful desegregation case in U.S. history and a key early victory in the fight for Mexican American civil rights. Became the first court-ordered school desegregation victory in U.S. history.

Mendez v. Westminster

A case in which Mexican American parents successfully challenged school segregation in California by suing 4 school districts in Orange County. The court ruled that separating students by ancestry was unconstitutional. The ruling forced California to end all public school segregation, making it the first state to do so.

Sleepy Lagoon Case

People v. Zammora, A trial based on Los Angeles where a young Mexican-American, Jose Diaz, was found dead near a swimming hole. Despite little to no evidence, the police arrested 24 young Mexican American men. The media and police would reflect racist stereotypes by portraying them as violent gang members. Extremely unjust trial as 12 young men were convicted of murder of assault.

Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee (SLDC)

A multiracial group formed in Los Angeles to defend the wrongfully accused young Mexican American men in the People v. Zammora Trial. The committee argued that the trial was based on racial prejudice, false stereotypes, and lack of evidence rather than facts. Group included large figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt. Through their efforts, the committee funded appeals, organized protests, and published reports exposing racism in the justice system and the media. Their activism contributed to the California Court of Appeals overturning all convictions in 1944.

Bracero Program

A U.S.–Mexico labor agreement (1942-1964) that brought millions of Mexican workers to the U.S. to fill wartime labor shortages. While it provided job opportunities, it also led to widespread exploitation and poor conditions, shaping the history of Mexican migration and the fight for farmworkers’ rights in America. 

Ernesto Galarza

Ernesto Galarza (1905–1984) was a Mexican American scholar, author, and labor activist who fought for farmworkers’ rights and exposed abuses in the Bracero Program. Through his organizing, research, and books like Barrio Boy, he helped shape the early Mexican American civil rights movement and inspired future generations of Chicano leaders

Harvest of Loneliness (film)

A documentary that exposes the exploitation and emotional pain faced by Mexican braceros who worked in the U.S. between 1942 and 1964. Through interviews and historical footage, it reveals how the program’s promises of opportunity often led instead to hardship, loneliness, and lasting social consequences for Mexican and Mexican American families. Exploitation and Inequality, Family Separation, Broken Promises, and Legacy.

Tim Hernandez

A Chicano author and poet whose writing uncovers hidden stories of Mexican American life, such as in All They Will Call You, which honors the forgotten victims of the 1948 deportee plane crash. In his book, he restores humanity to the 28 Mexican farmworkers who passed in a plane crash while being deported.

Jose Sanchez Valdivia

One of the plane crash victims that was in the process of being deported. Was big into baseball and made teams with local farmworkers in Stockton

Luis Miranda Cuevas

One of the plane crash victims that was in the process of being deported. Would do silly things such as dress up as a woman and sew next to his girlfriend to trick her strict father.

Frank and Bobbie Atkinson

They were also victims in the plane crash as one was he pilot of the plane and his wife who was the flight attendant

Deportee song (Woody Guthrie, Martin Hoffman, Pete Seeger)

A poem written by Woody Guthrie after the 1948 plane crash. Hoffman would then send this poem to Seeger who would make it into song-form.

Guadalupe Ramirez Lara

plane crash victim

Ramon Paredes Gonzalez

plane crash victim

Casimira Navarro Lopez

bride-to-be of luis miranda cuevas

Luisa Moreno

a Guatemalan-American labor and civil rights activist. She worked as an organizer for the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA), eventually becoming the union's vice president in 1941, making her the first Latina to be elected to a high-ranking national position in a trade union in the United States

Josefina Fierro de Bright

Josefina Fierro, later Josefina Fierro de Bright, was a Mexican-American leader who helped organize resistance against discrimination in the American Southwest during the Great Depression. Born in Mexicali, Baja California, she was the daughter of immigrants who fled revolution in Mexico to settle in California

Emma Tenayuca

Emma Beatrice Tenayuca was an American labor leader, union organizer, civil rights activist, and educator. She is best known for her work organizing Mexican workers in Texas during the 1930s, particularly for leading the 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike

Esperanza Quintero

Main protagonist in Salt of the Earth Strike where she became a protester for the working conditions of miners, as her husband was a miner. 

Salt of the Earth Strike

A 1954 film based on a strike from miners who were protesting the working conditions. Once the police were involved they prohibited the workers from contributing and participating in the Union. However, the wives and women of the community decided to protest in their place.

Operation Wetback

an immigration law enforcement initiative by the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was created by Joseph May Swing, a retired United States Army lieutenant general and head of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The program was implemented in June 1954 by U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell. The short-lived operation used military-style tactics to remove Mexican immigrants from the United States. Although aimed at undocumented Mexican immigrants, some American citizens and legal Mexican immigrants were also deported.

Cold War/Red Scare/Mine-Mill Workers Union

periods of intense anti-communist hysteria in the United States, most notably after World War I and during the Cold War from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Fueled by fears of communist influence and subversion, these periods led to widespread political persecution, loyalty oaths, investigations, and the blacklisting of suspected individuals in various sectors like government, Hollywood, and labor unions.

Intersectional Justice

recognizes that people's social identities—such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and disability—overlap and create unique systems of discrimination and privilege

Dolores Huerta

an American labor leader and feminist activist. After working for several years with the Community Service Organization (CSO), she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) with fellow activists Cesar Chavez and Gilbert Padilla, which eventually merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW)

Intergenerational Activism

different generations unite to fight for social justice, combining the experience of older activists with the passion and innovation of younger ones. It helps preserve movement history, strengthen solidarity, and ensure that struggles for equality and human rights continue across time.

Paula Cristosomo

led the largest high school student protest in the nation's history. The walkout took place in March 1968 and involved Mexican-American students from five East Los Angeles high schools who walked out of their classes to protest the substandard quality of their education.

Grassroots leadership and activism

driven by everyday people organizing locally to fight for justice and equality. These movements grow from shared community experiences and use collective action to challenge systems of power.

Sal Castro

a Mexican American teacher and activist who inspired the 1968 East LA Walkouts, helping students challenge racism in schools. His work transformed Chicano education and proved that grassroots, intergenerational activism could create lasting change.

Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO)

a secret FBI program that used surveillance, infiltration, and disinformation to disrupt civil rights and social justice movements, including the Chicano Movement. It exposed how government power was used to silence activism — but also how communities resisted and continued to fight for justice.

Brown Berets

militant Chicano civil rights group founded in the 1960s that fought for education, justice, and equality. They empowered their communities, challenged racism and police violence, and became a lasting symbol of Chicano resistance and pride.

Chicano Moratorium and Ruben Salazar

a massive anti–Vietnam War protest led by Chicano activists to oppose racial injustice and war. During the event, journalist Rubén Salazar was killed by police, becoming a martyr and symbol of Chicano resistance. His death exposed systemic racism and helped galvanize the Chicano Movement toward greater political and cultural unity

Gay Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU)

one of the first Queer Latine organization in the greater Los Angeles area. focused on advocating for the rights and visibility of LGBTQ+ Latinos.

Lydia Otero

a Chicanx/Latinx historian and author. They are known for their work on marginalized communities in Arizona. Also known for their work on ethnic studies, latinx urbanization and placemaking in latinx communities. In the 1980s, was president of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos and Lesbianas Unidas, politically active groups in California

Lesbians of Color

a diverse group of women who have historically organized for community, political action, and cultural visibility, with examples including the Salsa Soul Sisters and the Combahee River Collective

Critical Race Theory/Counter-storytelling

An academic and legal framework that examines how systemic racism is embedded in U.S. laws, institutions, and society, rather than solely a result of individual bias. It originated in American law schools in the 1970s and 1980s among scholars who were critical of the slow progress of racial equality following the civil rights era

Unidad (film and newsletter)

The film, directed by Gregorio Davila, chronicles the group's fight for LGBTQ rights, AIDS awareness, and social justice within the queer Latino community. It highlights the organization's impact on equality movements and the legacy of its members in the fight for civil rights

Coral Alonso and Emma de Paz

Corky Gonazlez/Yo Soy Joaquín (poem)

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales was a Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist. He was one of many leaders for the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado