1 Cultural Studies Analysis Othman Alnami Grossmont Chicana/o Literature Gibran Guido 20 March, 2022 2 Cultural Studies Analysis Question 1 The tool selected is known as "Auto-historía teoría" in Spanish. It is a relational form of autobiography that encompasses the narrator's life story and self-reflection in a storytelling process. It includes a blend of culture and personal biography with history, myth, storytelling, and memoir alongside other forms of theorizing. The process results in interwoven individual and collective identities. The theme that will feature in the story is racial discrimination. Discriminative practices lead to restrictive and exclusionary practices based on color, race, descent, or ethnicity. The Mexican-Americans have suffered racial discrimination from AngloAmerican society since the end of the Spanish conquest (Anzaldua, 1987). The colonizers left the Mexicans and granted them independence. The Mexican territory at that time was expansive and occupied the current south and parts of the west of the United States. The Anglo-Americans incorporated elements of the Mexican regions into the United States and promised to recognize the rights of the indigenous people. In the 1950s, the word Chicano was an insult. It was used to refer to the children of Mexican-American immigrants that resided in the United States. The Anglo-Americans used the term to refer to them because they felt they were not American enough. People from Mexico also used the name to refer to the children because they also thought they were not Mexican enough to be considered Mexican. Mexican-Americans endured several decades of mistreatment and were referred to as the Chicanos (Anzaldua, 1987). However, they decided to embrace the name as a sign of symbol pride. The Chicano Movement was birthed in the 1960s as a Mexican American civil rights movement. They had reclaimed the title as an expression of political 3 autonomy, indicating their pride of being of indigenous descent, ethnic and cultural solidarity, and rejecting the assimilationist Mexican American identity. The movement's roots can be traced back to the 1848 Treaty of the Guadalupe Hildago, which led to the realignment of the official boundary between the United States and Mexico. Mexicans found themselves living on the American side and were now considered Mexican Americans. The treaty had promised that the Mexicans who were now on the United States side would be regarded as full United States citizens with full civil rights (Anzaldua, 1987). However, after their territory had been officially incorporated into the United States, they began experiencing discrimination. The Anglo-Americans began moving in numbers into the Southwestern states, including New Mexico, Texas, and California. The United States' land policies were different from the Mexican ones. The indigenous Mexicans who relied on agriculture had their lands taken away based on the bureaucratic American land policies. They became squatters in their lands. I have witnessed the impact of racially discriminative practices directed towards Mexican Americans in modern America during my days in school. I had a college classmate with whom most of her family had been relocated to Mexico by the United States government. She narrated that the United States government did not fairly treat her grandparents and parents. Their lands were taken by the whites in Texas, leaving them without a livelihood since they relied on farming. Her parents were forced to look for factory jobs to provide for the family members. However, the economic hardships occasioned by the Great Depression led to them being actively removed from their jobs. They were moved to Mexico though they had lived in the southern part of the United States for the whole of their lives. 4 The Mexican Americans became inspired by the success of the African American Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and began actively pursuing equality under the Chicano Movement. The initial agitation for equality expanded to cover many issues, including workers' rights, land ownership, political equality, and equal education access (Anzaldua, 1987). The movement was mainly active in the Southwestern states, namely New Mexico, Texas, and California. The campaign led to the Mexican Americans reclaiming some of their rights. Their heritage and identity symbols are recognized, such as the Aztlán. Even though they could not officially own land, their identity and heritage were not forfeited. Other aspects of the movement were also successful. They organized themselves into large groups, stood up to the farm owners, and demanded more rights. They founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which organized boycotts against farm owners that refused to grant workers their rights (Anzaldua, 1987). They also collaborated with the government to create enhanced legal protections. New laws were instituted that resulted in improved wages and secure employment contracts. The union continues to fight for the rights of Mexican American workers even today. Equality to education has improved with the segregation of schools between whites and blacks being declared illegal. Schools receive equal funding, even those in poorer areas with a high percentage of Chicano students. The movement, thus, led to education reforms. Mexican American history began being taught in schools. The Chicano movement also increased Mexican Americans' involvement in politics. The events of the Chicano Movement relate to my life since I have benefited from their actions. It has assisted in reducing structural racism, which resulted in more comprehensive social disadvantages. The patterns of beliefs are no longer focused on advancing the interests of white people. My parents benefited from the movement's efforts and got a good jobs. It enabled 5 him to give us a decent living. I lived in a predominantly white neighborhood. I also attended schools that had a more significant percentage of white children. The teachers and the students no longer find it an extensive problem to learn with people of color. The access to quality education at the elementary and high school levels has enabled me to do well and join a good college. Equality in education has empowered people of color, thus allowing them to get a better education, secure good jobs, and improve their social lives. Question 2 Mexican Americans have endured decades of discrimination in the United States from Anglo-Americans. In its introduction, the film Chicano Park Documentary provides a background of the Chicano Movement that was involved in activism and space from the 1960s to restore Mexican Americans' rights and promote equality. The narrator notes how San Diego, California's ownership has changed over time (Mulford, 1988). It currently belongs to the Americans, but sometimes back, it belonged to the Mexicans, Spanish, and Indians. It was known as Aztlán. However, San Diego has now been transformed and has industries, a port, roads, and tall buildings. It is marked by growing urban influence. San Diego is now considered an American territory. The current southwestern states in America are in the land that once belonged to a people who hunted from the Pacific across to the Rio Grande, but the land became dry, and they moved to the valley of Mexico. They called themselves Aztecs in honor of their land Aztlán (Mulford, 1988). Therefore, the current states of New Mexico, California, and Texas comprise the Aztlán. Mexico, including the Southwestern parts of the United States, became Spanish territory after their conquest of Mexico. However, activism and space led to the Spanish giving the Mexicans freedom. However, after the departure of the Spaniards, the Anglo-Americans occupied the 6 Mexican territory through force and treaties. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago in 1848 finally realigned the United States and Mexico boundary. The lands that once belonged to Mexico became part of America, and the people were promised full United States citizenship and rights. The film, Chicano Park Documentary, provides the Chicano's cultural background and the fruits of activism and space. The Anglo-Americans took away the Mexican Americans' land rights while the Chicano had lived in San Diego for over a hundred years. In her book Borderlands La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Gloria Anzaldua also provides the history of Aztlán and how the Mexicans lost their homeland after their territory was absorbed into the United States. The first poem in the book is about Aztlán, which she refers to as the lost homeland. Before their inclusion into the United States, Mexican Americans lived a happy life and did not know about the border between Mexico and the United States and racism (Anzaldua, 1987). However, they lost all that after their territory became part of America. The American land laws resulted in a change of ownership, with the lands that once belonged to the Chicanos being converted to Industrial land. Many families had to move, and freedom of movement was restricted with the creation of the border in the 1920s. Activism and space are essential tactics for resistance and protest. They have been employed successfully to fight for the rights of various people in different regions. The Chicano movement has been an instrumental activism group. The Chicanos organized themselves and formed a union to resist the shackles of oppression. According to Anzaldua (1987), the Chicanos stood up to fight against cultural tyranny. It involved activism that pushed for the recognition of Mexican history. The American school only taught about the Anglo-Americans and Spanish history but never mentioned the Aztecs or the history of the Chicano. The activism has resulted 7 in the reclamation of some rights that include recognition of cultural centers, such as the Chicano Park, and the provision of equal education rights. It outlines the power of activism and space. Growing up as a young person in my neighborhood, I was among the small-bodied children. Therefore, I was constantly subjected to bullying by my physically superior friends. Sometimes, I would be denied a chance to participate in some games, but I could do nothing. One day, I decided to stand up to one of the big boys notorious for my oppression. I organized my siblings and my close friends and fought him into submission. In the same way, the Mexican Americans organized themselves under the Chicano Movement in the 1960s and have been involved in activism to fight for the recognition of the Chicanos as full United States citizens. It led to them regaining Chicano Park, a monument representing the Chicanos. They have also gained more rights as workers and are provided educational opportunities. It has enabled most of them to rise in society and improve their lives. The flag of the Aztláns now reigns in Chicano Park, a sign of the fruits of activism and space. 8 References Anzaldua, G. (1987). Borderlands La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books. Mulford, M. (1988). Chicano Park Documentary. Chicano Park Steering Committee. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=728035427891898
