History and Context of the Chicano Movement CH.1
Defining the Concept of Chicano
The term "Chicano" is characterized by "blurry edges," much like the concept of existentialism. It was never a single doctrine laid down by one authority, but rather a historical necessity and an effort to adapt to cultural and historical forces.
Armando Rendón, in his 1970 work Chicano Manifesto, stated, "I am Chicano. What it means to me may be different than what it means to you."
Benjamin Alire Sáenz observed that there is no single Chicano voice, only "Chicano and Chicana voices."
Etymology: The word is rooted in the 16th-century clash between Spain and the Mexicas (Aztecs). "Mexica" was pronounced "Meshica." Spaniards substituted the "sh" sound with the letter "x," resulting in "México" or "Mexicanos." "Shicano" served as a shortened version of "Meshicanos." This label connects practitioners to both Mexican roots and an indigenous past.
Alternative Terms: Many Chicanos rejected the term "Hispanic" because it acknowledges only the Spanish connection, effectively negating half of their history and identity.
Historical and Social Evolution of the Term
Derogatory Usage: Historically, "Chicano" was used as a negative label for Mexicans who became "gringofied," losing their original language and culture after immigrating to the United States.
Pocho: This term, meaning "rotten fruit," described those stuck between cultures—neither fully American nor fully Mexican—who spoke neither "proper" Spanish nor "proper" English.
Self-Affirmation: Despite its negative origins, Mexican Americans adopted the term as a form of endearment, self-effacement, and ultimately, self-affirmation. It represents the consciousness of living in between nations and histories.
Self-Determination: In the context of civil rights, the name was chosen by the community itself rather than being imposed by outsiders. This choice reflected the goal of the Movimiento (the movement) to reject a history of racism, disenfranchisement, and economic exploitation.
Core Figures and Organizations of the Chicano Movement
César Chávez and Dolores Huerta: Key leaders of the United Farm Workers (UFW) who struggled against exploitative growers in California. While Chávez is a national icon, he did not explicitly consider himself a "Chicano leader," and many farmworkers did not use the label for themselves.
Reies López Tijerina: An activist from New Mexico who functioned like a soapbox preacher. He led efforts to reclaim lands taken from Indo-Hispano people after the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. He is famous for the 1967 Tierra Amarilla courthouse raid.
Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzalez: A leader from Denver, Colorado, known for his epic poem of identity, I am Joaquín. He organized the Chicano National Youth and Liberation Conference.
José Angel Gutiérrez: A leader from Crystal City, Texas, who spearheaded the La Raza Unida Party, a political organization aimed at mobilizing Mexican American voters.
Ruben Salazar: A quiet, distinguished journalist for the Los Angeles Times who covered the movement.
The Brown Berets: A cadre of young men and women in khaki and brown uniforms who served as the defenders of the Chicano barrio.
Chicana Caucus: An organized group that protested the patriarchy within the movement and demanded that women's voices be heard and represented.
Oscar Zeta Acosta ("The Brown Buffalo"): A radical Chicano lawyer, novelist, and drug enthusiast with "bulging, manic eyes." He represented the militant and overzealous aspects of the movement before disappearing in Mazatlán, Mexico, in $1974$.
Gloria Anzaldúa: A Chicana scholar and feminist whose $1987$ work La Frontera/Borderlands re-centered the movement. She advocated for the liberation of all people marginalized by class, race, gender, or sexual preference.
Historical Injustices and the Spanish Conquest
Identity as Mestizos: Chicanos recognize themselves as a mixed race born of the brutal $16$th-century conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés.
The Conquest: Cortés took advantage of the Aztec belief that he might be the feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, who was predicted to return in a year corresponding to $1519$. Emperor Montezuma II initially greeted the Spaniards with gold.
La Malinche: An enslaved Indian girl who served as Cortés's interpreter and guide. She bore him a son, symbolizing the birth of the mestizaje (mixed race). While once viewed as a traitor, Chicana feminists later reclaimed her as a survivor who thrived under limited options.
Factors of Spanish Success: Despite being outnumbered, the Spanish used superior weaponry and introduced diseases like smallpox, for which the indigenous population had no immunity. Spain subsequently imposed Catholicism and exploited native labor in mining and agriculture.
Bartolomé de las Casas: A Dominican friar and the first priest ordained in the Americas. In his $1542$ work, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, he condemned the "infernal methods of tyranny" used by Spaniards to acquire gold.
The Mexican-American War and Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny: The $19$th-century belief that American citizens had a God-given right to own all territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific, rooted in notions of racial and cultural superiority.
James K. Polk: Elected president in $1844$ on a platform to annex Texas, which had seceded from Mexico in $1836$. After the annexation in $1845$, he sought territory further west.
The War ($1846$–$1848$): The United States defeated a debt-ridden and politically unstable Mexico, leading to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ($1848$): Mexico lost over half its territory, including what is now California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming. Though the treaty guaranteed the rights of Mexicans to their land, religion, and customs, they were quickly treated as second-class citizens by Anglo-American settlers.
Juan Cortina: Known as the "Robin Hood of the Rio Grande," he became a symbol of resistance after shooting a marshal who was beating a vaquero in $1859$. He led a $10$-year border war against Anglo domination in Texas.
The Mexican Revolution ($1910$–$1920$)
The Porfiriato: Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico for $35$ years ($1876$–$1911$) with an iron fist, stability, and oppression, selling resources to foreign powers.
Revolutionary Leaders: Francisco Madero challenged Díaz, but radical change was driven by Pancho Villa in the north and Emiliano Zapata in the south.
Emiliano Zapata: His slogan was Tierra y Libertad ("Land and Liberty"). His famous quote, "It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees," became a mantra for Chicanos.
La Adelita: Originally a real female soldier, the term became synonymous with the soldaderas—women warriors who fought for change during the revolution.
Mass Migration: The upheaval caused tens of thousands of Mexicans to flee north. By $75$ years after the Mexican-American War, Los Angeles held the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico City.
Systematic Discrimination and the "Mexican-American Generation"
Second-Class Citizenship: For a century after $1848$, Mexican Americans faced Jim Crow-style discrimination, lynchings, and violence from the Texas Rangers. They were excluded from the political process and schools prohibited the use of Spanish.
Mass Deportations: During the Great Depression ($1930$s), hundreds of thousands were repatriated. In the $1950$s, "Operation Wetback" resulted in thousands more deportations.
The Assimilationist Era: The preceding generation ($1940$s–$1950$s) emphasized whiteness and assimilation. Organizations like LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens, founded $1928$) and MAM (Mexican American Movement) promoted self-improvement and integration into mainstream society, often requiring members to be U.S. citizens and use English.
Desegregation Efforts:
The Lemon Grove Incident ($1931$): The first successful school desegregation court decision in the U.S.
Mendez v. Westminster (mid-$1940$s): An Orange County case holding that the segregation of Mexican students was unconstitutional.
Post-War Activism and Labor
American GI Forum ($1948$): Established to protect veterans. Its most famous case involved Felix Longoria, a soldier killed in the Philippines; after being denied burial at a white funeral home in Texas, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery through the Forum's efforts.
Labor Organizing:
Salt of the Earth Strike ($1950$): Led by women miners in New Mexico against the Empire Zinc Company.
Bert Corona and Ernesto Galarza: Key organizers on behalf of workers and immigrants.
Community Service Organization (CSO): Helped elect Edward R. Roybal to the U.S. House of Representatives in $1963$.
Political Associations: MAPA (California, founded $1959$) and PASSO (Texas, founded $1960$) pressured the Democratic Party for representation. "Viva Kennedy!" clubs provided early political training for youth.
Culture and Radicalization
The Zoot Suiters (Pachucos): A youth counter-culture that wore "drapes," spoke caló (a mix of Spanish and English wordplay), and listened to jazz and Caribbean music.
Octavio Paz: In his essay "The Pachuco and Other Extremes" ($1953$), he criticized pachucos for their "will-to-be" that rejected both Mexican and North American identities.
Zoot Suit Riots ($1943$): Tensions erupted in Los Angeles when sailors and Marines attacked Mexican American youth. On June $7$, thousands joined the attacks. Police largely arrested the victims rather than the aggressors.
Economic Reality ($1960$): Statistics showed a "stacked deck" against the community:
of all families lived below the poverty line.
Unemployment was twice the rate of whites.
of students dropped out before completing high school.
Mexican Americans were chronically underrepresented on juries and in government.