Lecture #45 - Chicano Counterculture & Activism in Austin (1950s–2020s)

Baby‐boom prosperity (post–WW II, 1950s) ⇒ large youth cohort in the 1960s.
First boomers turned 18 in 1964; about 24{,}000{,}000 Americans reached adulthood in that decade.
Cohort labelled the “counterculture” for its open rejection of parental norms; majority white/Anglo middle- & working-class, but not exclusively.
Scholarly critique: less a true revolution, more a celebration of individual choice within an expanding consumer marketplace.

Sloganised as “Sex, Drugs, Rock-and-Roll.”
Consumerism considered a birth-right; heavy susceptibility to branding & advertising.
Hair (long, Native-American–coded), bell-bottoms (Mexican invention), huaraches, tie-dye: fashion as both identity marker & cross-cultural appropriation.

Marijuana widespread; LSD central.
Timothy Leary (Harvard): mind expansion via micro-dosing; mantra “Turn on, tune in, drop out.”
Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) toured in a psychedelic bus spreading LSD experimentation.

El Paso–born; grew up Riverbank, CA; became an Oakland public defender.
1975 memoir The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo: chronicles binge of alcohol, marijuana, mushrooms, LSD.
Identity turmoil — quote (p.196): “One son of a bitch tells me I’m not a Mexican, and the others say that I’m not an American… I got no roots anywhere.”
Punished for speaking Spanish → 20‐year language abandonment; judge in Juárez told him to learn his father’s tongue.
Pop icons: Texas Rangers, Tom Mix, Gary Cooper, Bob Dylan; disliked Mexican folk music.
Hunter S. Thompson friendship; fictionalised as Samoan lawyer in Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (“too weird to live, too rare to die”).
Advocated “Brown Buffalo” identity: “I am Chicano by ancestry and a Brown Buffalo by choice.”
Disappeared 1974 (Mazatlán) — presumed overdose or homicide; body never recovered.

Rivera assaulted by APD at youth fundraiser; riot ensued (car-jack weapons, nightstick to face, custodial beating).
Outrage birthed local Beret chapter; Rivera inspired by California Beret literature.
Berets partnered with Larry Jackson’s Black Panther Party.

Community house offering lunch, hang-out space, basic healthcare.
Modelled on Panther survival programs; training ground for press conferences & issue framing (police brutality, infrastructure neglect, political representation).

Drag-boat races brought West-side crowds, noise, trash to East Austin lakeshore.
Tactics: Berets stalled junk cars beneath I-35 choke-points to block entry.
April 1978 freeway action ➔ severe APD crackdown; iconic photo of four officers tackling Hernandez.
Public outcry ⇒ cancellation of races; area renamed Edward Rendon Sr. Chicano Park; low-rider gatherings continue.

Capitol steps: 70 Klansmen shielded by 400 police from 2{,}000 counter-protesters.
Hernandez pummeled by 7 officers (concussion, broken ribs/wrist, 8 stitches); convicted of resisting arrest by all-white jury.
Activist Maria Limón also injured.

30 May 2020: George Floyd protest outside APD HQ → bean-bag round to 16-yr-old Levi Ayala (TBI; \$3,000,000 settlement).
31 May 2020: Justin Howell similarly wounded; total protest injuries: 115.
April 2020: Mike Ramos (unarmed Afro-Hispanic) killed by Officer Christopher Taylor; mistrial 2023, retrial pending.
30 Aug 2021: Austin City Council cut APD budget by one-third (≈\$150{,}000{,}000) — largest percentage cut in U.S.
Ongoing issues: staffing shortages, DPS & constable backfill, debated re-funding.

Bastrop coal-mining roots; field-worker youth (cotton from 5–17); UT Austin graduate.
Organizer: Peace Corps regional dir.; boycott coordinator for Cesar Chavez.
1974: Beat incumbent Democrat + GOP + Raza Unida rivals for TX House seat.
1984: Won Texas Senate.

Targeted dropout & incarceration disparities (Black & Mexican-American).
Top 10\% Rule: automatic state-university admission for class valedictory decile — race-neutral diversity tool.
Capitol View Corridor Law: height limits around Capitol to preserve sight-lines (“heritage over getting rich”).
Continued civic engagement; survived COVID-19, now elder statesman at community events.

Born 1952; parents grew food/stock, instilling environmental ethic.
1970s Brown Beret; battled police bias & educational inequality.
1991: Founded PODER (People Organizing in Defense of Earth & her Resources).
- Target: hazardous gasoline tank-farm leaks in East Austin.
- Methods: community meetings, hearings, media pressure.
Successes improved environmental quality but spurred gentrification.
Opposes density-up-zoning & luxury high-rises displacing longtime residents.
2017 press conference at Rendon Park (low-rider noise complaints): “How dare they complain about the cultura of our raza? We’ve been here for generations.”
Unsuccessful City-Council bids (2014, 2018) versus brother Sabino “Pio” Rentería; campaigns noted for bitterness.

Counterculture’s individualism was swiftly commodified; highlights tension between rebellion & consumerism.
Chicano experience intertwines ethnic identity, class oppression, and cross-racial solidarity (Brown Berets ⇄ Black Panthers).
Recurring police violence (1973, 1978, 1983, 2020) demonstrates systemic persistence; sparks cycles of reform, defund debates.
Environmental justice can unintentionally accelerate displacement, necessitating anti-gentrification safeguards.
Top 10\% Rule showcases policy ingenuity: equity without explicit quotas.