The Many Roots and Branches of the
Chicano Movement
Major Themes
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Although progress had been made prior to the Chicano
Movement, Mexicans in the U.S. were still much poorer than
white Americans, and segregation persisted in some schools,
neighborhoods and public facilities.
Many white Americans, from academics to politicians and
journalists, expressed surprise when they realized Chicanos were
beginning to protest their conditions publicly.
Currents of confrontational protest and anti-assimilation existed
throughout the 20th century in Mexican communities, but they
rose to predominance during the Chicano Movement.
The Chicano Movement emerged from a diverse array of political
issues that were sometimes contradictory.
Many Chicano Movement leaders had prior experience
advocating for change in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The Black Civil Rights Movement (1955-1974) and opposition to
the War in Vietnam( 1961-1975) were an important context for
the rise of the Chicano Movement.
Key Questions
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Why did the Chicano Movement occur?
 When did the Movement begin? When did
it end?
 Was the Chicano Movement a continuation
of previous efforts during the MexicanAmerican generation? Or was it a
rejection of the strategies of the MexicanAmerican activists?
 How can we define the Chicano
Movement? What were the politics of the
Chicano Movement?
Economic Results of Continued Segregation
Per Ca p it a
Income
Percen t Li v ing
in ÒDet er ior a ted
HousingÓ
Famil y Size
Median Grad e
Compl e ted
Mexican
Ame ricans
Wh ite
Ame ricans
$968
$2047
29.7%
7.5%
4.77
3.39
8.1(4. 8 in Texas)
12
Source: Leo Grebler, The Mexican American People, as quoted in Acuna pg. 287.
The Demise
of the Bracero
Program
From left clockwise: Labor organizer and academic Ernesto Galarza, California Senator
George Murphy and California Congressman Edward Roybal speaking at a rally.
United Farm Workers
From the left clockwise: Cesar Chavez on the cover of Time Magazine in 1969,
Dolores Huerta speaking to workers on the Delano strike lines in 1966, Cesar
Chavez and Dolores Huerta at the funeral of UFW member Juan de la Cruz
killed during the second grape strike in 1973.
Delano Grape Strike
On left: Delano striker pleading with other farm workers to join the strike. Top right: a picket line in
Delano, in the foreground are workers who were not yet on strike, the picketers carry signs saying
“Huelga” which means strike. Bottom right: a picket line in Delano with many Filipino strikers.
UFW and Public Support
From upper left clockwise: Grape Boycott and UFW support actions in Montreal, Canada;
Honolulu, Rhode Island, Boston, Milwaukee and Seattle all between 1967 and 1970.
UFW and La Causa
From Upper Right Clockwise: Fence painted by UFW supporters in Delano, CA ~1967;
Supporters of the UFW in Wautoma, Wisconsin, 1968 who later organized other Chicano
Movement activities in Milwaukee; advertisement in the Silverton-Appeal Tribune Mt. Angel
News 9/11/80 for the Colegio Cesar Chavez located in Mt. Angel, Oregon from 1973-1983.
Education and the Movement
From Top Left Clockwise: Chicano Student High School Blowouts Los Angeles-1968; article from
the Los Angeles Times about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts; Crystal City, TX High School Blowout,
1969; Students Protest Police Presence at Los Angeles High School 1970; Sal Castro, 1970.
Education and the Movement
On Upper Left: Los Angeles Blowouts 1968; Bottom Left:
Parents speak to Los Angeles School Board in favor of
student protestors in 1970; On Right: Chicano Students
march from their high school to Board of Education offices
in Los Angeles
Higher Education and the Movement
From Upper Left Clockwise: Chicana
students at Colorado State University in
Pueblo, Colorado protest in 1970s;
Francisco Martinez a member of the
university group United Mexican American
Students (UMAS) speaking to high school
students in 1968; Newspaper article from
Seattle discussing the decision of a
University of Washington chapter of UMAS
to become MEChA; A Chicano Studies
class taught by Raul Ruiz in 1983, Ruiz had
been a key Chicano Movement activist.
Chicano Youth Liberation Conference
From Top Left Clockwise: Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez speaking in Denver in early 1970s; March to
the Capitol building that took place at the end of the Chicano Youth Liberation Conference; Cover of
the 1972 mass market edition of the epic poem “Yo Soy Joaquin”; the poet Alurista circa 1970.
Chicano Moratorium on the Vietnam War
All photographs from the Chicano Moratorium on
the Vietnam War August 29, 1970.
The Death of Ruben Salazar
On upper left: Photo outside
the Silver Dollar Bar just prior
to Salazar’s death; On upper
right: Ruben Salazar; On
bottom left: An Chicano AntiWar March in Seattle in 1971,
note the call to “Remember
Reuben Salazar” on the left of
the banner. Despite the
spelling the intent was to
memorialize Salazar, a
sentiment that was widespread
amongst Chicanos.
Many Branches: Defining the Chicano Movement
From Left Clockwise: an example of Chicano Movement art, etching by Esther Hernandez
entitled “Liberty”; Boy protesting the imprisonment of members of the New Mexico organization
La Alianza Federal de Mercedes; members of La Raza Unida Party supporting their candidate
for the governor of Texas Ramsey Muniz; members of Catolicos por La Raza in 1969.
Further Reading
Donato, Rubén. The Other Struggle for Equal Schools: Mexican Americans During the Civil Rights
Era. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1997.
Gonzales, Rodolfo. Message to Aztlán: Selected Writings of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales. Houston,
Tex: Arte Público Press, 2001.
Gutierrez, Jose Angel. The Making of a Chicano Militant: Lessons from Cristal. Madison, Wis:
University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.
Gutiérrez, José Angel. We Won't Back Down: Severita Lara's Rise from Student Leader to Mayor.
Houston, Tex: Piñata Books, 2005.
Haney-López, Ian. Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice. Harvard University Press, 2004.
Levy, Jacques E. Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa. 1st ed. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 2007.
Mariscal, George. Brown-Eyed Children of the Sun: Lessons from the Chicano Movement, 1965-1975.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
Martinez, Richard Edward. PADRES: The National Chicano Priest Movement. 1st ed. Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2005.
Muñoz, Carlos. Youth, Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement. Rev. and expanded ed. London:
Verso, 2007.
Pulido, Laura. Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2006.
Salazar, Ruben. Border Correspondent: Selected Writings, 1955-1970. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1995.
San Miguel, Guadalupe. Brown, Not White: School Integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2001.
Treviño, Jesús Salvador. Eyewitness: A Filmmaker's Memoir of the Chicano Movement. Houston, Tex:
Arte Publico Press, 2001.
Vigil, Ernesto B. The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999.