Ethnic Studies: Raza Leaders & Movements
Day 1: Raza History & Culture
Students will be introduced to Raza history and culture.
LESSON GOALS:

Introduce students to the diversity in the RAZA community

Introduce students to key RAZA historical facts

Have students want to learn more about RAZA culture and current issues
LESSON AGENDA:
Check- in Activity (10 min)
Find Your Partner Timeline Activity (15 min)
Raza Jeopardy (20 min)
Closing (5 min)
SUPPLIES & PREP NEEDED:
North American Continent to South American Continent Map
Butcher paper, markers
Read activity prep for Find Your Partner timeline activity
Prepare packets of envelopes per small group (need index cards, envelopes, copies of timeline,
scissors)
Read jeopardy game instructions
Prepare jeopardy game board on foam display board, & score board on butcher paper
Review jeopardy game content
SOURCES:
Youth Together
1: CHECK IN ACTIVITY: WHAT IS RAZA?
10 MINUTES
a. Explain Map of Southern Native Peoples (Mexico, Central America, South America, Tierra
del Fuego, Argentina borders)
b. Game: Name as many Raza nations as you can

“Hispanic” vs Raza; explain problem with label erasing history of Columbus genocide/colonization
2: TIMELINE ACTIVITY: FIND YOUR PARTNER
15 MINUTES
This step introduces us to Raza’s historical, political, cultural and economic role in the United States and
internationally.
a. Activity Prep

Make copies of the events and dates listened on the Find Your Partner Activity Sheet. Cut them
in strips and paste them on 4x6 index cards. Place date in one envelope and events in another
envelope
b. Find Your Partner

Ask participants to divide the class into 2 groups. One team will get the event; the other will get
the dates. After the teams have been decided, each member draws an event or a date from the
envelope.

Tell the groups they will have 10 minutes to find their mate (the person holding the date that
goes with its significance). Suggest that they look for time clues in the event. Ask each pair to
line up in the correct chronological order of when the events occurred (500A.D; 1492, 1896 and
so on).

Signal when it’s time to start; considerable commotion and discussion will follow. At the end of
10 minutes, signal that time is up. Have pairs read off the events with the dates in the order they
should appear. Recognize the team with the most dates in the right order. Then have both
teams put themselves in the right order.
3: RAZA JEOPARDY
20 MINUTES
The purpose of this game is to provide students with an overview of all the information they learned in
the previous activity. It is opportunity for students to have fun with the new information.

Ask participants to divide the class into 2 to 3 equal groups. Students should write down their
name on the board/butcher paper and keep score (or assign a score keeper).

Explain that the entire group will be playing a game like Jeopardy, only in teams. Remind
students that you will read the answer, and they will give the question that matches the answer.
Tell students you will begin by choosing the first category. They will then choose categories
during the rest of the game.

The student who raises a hand first gets to answer for his or her team. You may wish to modify
the guidelines to solicit full team participation.

If the students states the correct question, his/her team picks the next category and proceeds. If
the student is incorrect, the other team gets a chance to state the question.

The team with the most point wins.
5 MINUTES
4: CLOSING
1. De-Brief

Was the game hard? Why don’t we know Raza history? What kind of history do we know?

What are the results of not knowing Raza history?
2. Checking Out

What are some questions you have always wanted to know about Raza peoples? – where/how
might you find out? Ethnic studies, local events, etc…

What’s one thing you learned today and how did it impact you?
Find Your Partner Timeline Activity
Year / Event
Pre-1492
Major social and historical
accomplishments by major
Indigenous societies, such as the
Olmecs, Mexica/Aztec, Maya and
Inca.
Facts that were destroyed,
erased, forgotten or co-opted by
European Invaders.
Pre-1492
Indigenous Unity & Philosophy
One Land, One People
Pre-1492
Indigenous Unity and Identity
1492 – October 12
Christopher Columbus & Crew get
lost and land in Western
Hemisphere on the Island he
named Espanola, next door to
Haiti/Dominican Republic.
14xx –
The Western Hemisphere is
named “the Americas” after the
first documented European
explorer Amerigo Vergucci.
1500s –
Significance
Fully developed Indigenous societies whose sustainability and
progress is based on the development of…
(1) Agriculture: Extensive system that evolved around the
harvesting of Corn, Beans, Chiles, Potatoes, Coco,
Peanuts, Avocado, Rubber, etc.
(2) Architecture: The pyramids throughout the “Americas”
are testament to large scale construction. The
architectural work included extensive systems of
irrigation, canals, wells that brought clean water to
homes, towns and harvest.
(3) Scholarship: Education systems (universities) were
implemented that focused on the areas related to social
development and sciences, including writing, history,
philosophy and astrology.
(4) Medicine: The Inca had mastered Dentistry for health
and aesthetics. While the Maya surgical procedures have
been proved to have included brain surgeries and surgical
amputations.
Indigenous People believe that the Earth is a living entity that
cannot be owned or controlled by people, and that it is people’s
responsibility to take care of it. Indigenous people also believe
that all humans are related because we are all need the same
basic needs to survive like air, water, crops, and a healthy
community.
Although there have always been difference and conflict,
Indigenous people of the Americas had a grounding in natural
harmony that Europeans did not understand. Language,
Ceremony and Earth relations continue to unite people of the
Western Hemisphere. For example:
(1) Nahuatl / Uto-Aztecan – is the prevalent language spoken by
Native people from Canada down to Nicaragua.
(2) Food – Corn, Beans, Chiles, Potatoes, and Turkey are example
of foods that were eaten throughout. Some were Native to the
many individual regions and others that were traded across lands.
Their arrival of Europeans symbols the end of Native sovereignty
and the beginning of white supremacy and exploitation. The
Spanish automatically assign Native people the status of animals
and claim ownership of all land, people, and resources. Slavery
begins, with the Native people and later with African captives.
Another example of European misinterpretation and White
supremacy was the imposition of European names to Indigenous
places and things. The Western Hemisphere was known by
different names such as Turtle Island, Anahuak, and Abya Ayala.
Legal system that established white supremacy and privilege
Slave / Caste System is
established by the Spanish Crown
throughout the Americas.
based on where you were born and who were your parents. 36
categories were created that determined people’s freedom, rights,
level of segregation.
It was a racist system that equated darker-skinned people with
being less than human and therefore deserving of less or no
rights.
1700s –
Junipero Serra along with other
Jesuit Priest and Monks establish the
first European establishments and
domination throughout the West
Coast of California.
1700 –
Population shift in Latino America
due slavery, to segregation, and
rape.
1823 –
The Monroe Doctrine
1800s –
The Mexican Schools
1848 –
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
1930 –
Roberto Alvarez vs. Board of
Trustees of Lemon Grove School
It was a system that was internalized by the Raza community in
which beauty, respect and wealth is based on the shade of your
skin.
After the establishment of the California Missions, Native
communities throughout California experienced mass
enslavement, forced labor and Christian indoctrination.
In Mexico’s 1770 census determines that the 1st largest
population is Indians / Natives, 2nd largest is Africans, followed by
Mestizos (Native-European mix), and folks of European-descent
US President Monroe, made a proclamation in 1823 declaring that
United States as the sole “protector” (aka proprietor) of the
Americas. This was in response to the failed attempt of France to
colonize Mexico.
These schools were created by the US government to segregate
and take away the culture and language from youth of Mexican
descent. Students were forced to change their names to
“American” names (i.e. Juan  Johnny); parents were instructed
on how to cook “proper American” food instead of Mexican food.
Children were instructed in basic English and labor-related
instructions. Girls were taught how to cook, clean, childrearing
and sowing while Boys were instructed in mechanics, farm
techniques, etc.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed at the end of the
Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848. The Mexican
government was coerced to sell half of its country, 525,000
square miles to the United States for $15 million. This land
included the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico, Texas, and part of Utah.
The Treaty claimed to recognize prior land grants in the
Southwest, offered citizenship to any Mexicans residing in the
area, and the right for preservation of Mexican language, culture,
and customs of people remaining on the north of the US-Mexican
border.
As migrant farmworkers were recruited to work in San Diego
county’s Lemon Grove town, racism escalated and segregation
established. Mexican children were banned from attending the
public school buildings with White children and instead were
1950s –
The Zoot Suit Riots a.k.a. The Navy
Riots
1960-1970
Chicano Power on the Rise!
1960 –
The United Farm Worker, labor
Union is established.
1968 –
The East LA Blowouts
1970s –
The Young Lords Party for Self
Defense
1970 –
La Raza Unida Political Party is
established
1970s – 1990s
forced into a building previously used as a barn were they
received substandard education and resources. Concerned
Mexican parents organized the “Comite de Vecinos de Lemon
Grove” (The Lemon Grove Neighbors Committee) and led to a
lawsuit in San Diego’s County Superior Court. The final decision
was in favor of the Mexican families and in the desegregation of
public schools in CA.
At the height of WWII patriotism, drunk Navy servicemen cruised
LA to pick-up on Raza women. This created a climate of
intimidation and later of violence. The military personnel and
police attacked and criminalization of Raza youth dressed in Zoot
Suits. White folks joined the riots with the belief that they were
serving their patriotic duty against Raza.
Inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Power movement, Chicanos
and Raza begin to organize for the rights and empowerment of
the community. They do this through Conference, mass
community actions, and militant groups such as the Brown Berets
and the Black Berets in California.
The efforts to organize farmworkers by Phillip Veracruz, Filipino
farmworker, was later formalized by the efforts of Dolores Huerta
and Cesar Chavez when they led campaigns for basic rights for
farm workers, who were mostly Raza against major produce
corporations.
In March 1968, hundreds of East LA high school students walked
out of their classes This was the first known mass action that was
youth-led and focused on Educational issues in California. RAZA
youth were breaking out of accepted roles and demanding for their
education and future. Many taking on the label of "Chicano" or
"Chicana". It included a full week of coordinated student walkouts from high Schools throughout LA county. Students were
protesting the inadequate education Raza students were receiving
in public schools. Such as mass disempowerment through tracking
out of college and into remedial and trade classes, corporal
punishment (i.e. hitting of students for discipline), and other racist
policies. They wanted bilingual education, more Chicano teachers
and administrators, and courses relevant to their history, not to
mention improved cafeteria food. In the end, city education
officials did little to meet the student demands, and some twenty
years later those who participated, while showing evidence that the
demonstrations had significantly impacted their own lives, were still
lamenting the problems plaguing the schools of East Los Angeles.
With the spirit of resistance sweeping the nation, Boricuas (aka
Puerto Ricans) are inspired to address the conditions in their
communities. The conversion of a Chicago street gang into a
political organization known as the Young Lords, forces the issue
of Puertoricans and US colonialism into the mainstream.
The first and only Raza-led political party created in the United
States. This was the culmination of the Chicano community
organizing and mobilizing through the 60’s and 70’s.
People were rising up against a system of power that kept over
Civil Wars in Guatemala,
Nicaragua and El Salvador.
80% of the people poor and 80% of the land & wealth in the
hands of few (10-20) families.
The war and mass repression forced people out of their homes
and homeland. Millions left to the US, Mexico, Europe and
Australia.
1990’s
The rise of anti-immigrant
sentiments
2004 –
With the US war against Iraq, LatinAmerican countries began to resist
further US intervention.
2006 –
HR 4437 - The Sensenberger Bill
It started in California with the passage of 1994 proposition 187
that denied basic services and rights to undocumented migrants.
This led to the federal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act
of 1996 that has made it harder for people to formalize their legal
status, made it easier to deport people. It has had
disproportionately affected Raza and South East Asian youth who
are labeled as gang-affiliated youth.
Operation Gatekeeper was established with to stop illegal
immigration at the border. It brought military personnel and
technology to the border. It also kicked-off the building of a wall
across the US-Mexico border.
Folks across South America began voting-in governments that are
strongly against US intervention in their countries. The Iraq war is
recognized as war for oil. Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Cuba
banned U.S. and British petroleum products in protests.
The 2006 federal bill that seeks to punish all people who aid,
support or house undocumented immigrants. It also includes the
further militarization of the border and other clauses that deny
basic rights for immigrants.
Raza Studies Workshop
Jeopardy Questions
Native World
View & Culture
100 Points
Two Indigenous
Nations of the
Americas that
had large scale
Architectural and
Educational
systems
Answer:
Who are the…
Maya, Aztec/
Mexica, Inca
200 Points
300 Points
Name three (3)
food items that
are native to the
Americas
(fruits, veggies,
dishes, etc)
Historical
Struggles &
Benchmarks
The first foreign
(European)
establishments
and settlers in
the West Coast.
Answer/s:
The California
Missions were
established in the
late 1700s by
Jesuit Catholic
priests.
The system of
privilege and
segregation
imposed by the
Spanish and
Roman Church.
Alliances
Personal
Impact
Current Issues
This group was
inspired by the
militant
resistance of the
Black Panther
Party for Self
Defense.
Schools created
to segregate and
take away the
culture and
language from
youth of Mexican
descent.
The 2006 federal
bill that punishes
all people who
aid, support or
house
undocumented
immigrants.
Answer:
The Brown
Berets
Answer:
Mexican Schools
of the 1800s
Answer:
HR 4437
The Sensenberger
Bill
Double
Jeopardy
2nd largest
population in
Mexico in 1700’s
President Nixon
made this word
the official term
for Brown and
Spanish-speaking
people in the
U.S.
Name the two (2)
states where
people voted to
deny basic
services to
undocumented
and migrant
families.
Answer:
Corn, Beans, all
Chiles, Potatoes,
Coco, Turkey,
Peanuts,
Avocado,
Cilantro, Mole,
Salsa, tortillas,
Answer:
Caste System –
36 categories
classified people
based on their
blood/racial
make-up
Answer:
Folks of African
Descent were
the second
largest
population in
Mexico, next to
Indian/Native
people
Medical
procedure
developed by the
Indigenous
People.
An official
statement by a
US president that
declared that US
was the sole
“protector” (aka
proprietor) of the
Americas.
This group
evolved out of a
Chicago street
gang, and
helped highlight
the issues of the
Puerto Rican
community.
Answer/s:
The Monroe
Doctrine of 1823
Answer:
The Young Lords
Party
Answer:
Brain Surgery,
Dental work
Answer:
Hispanic – a Latin
word that
highlights a
European/
Spanish ancestry
without
acknowledging
peoples Native
and African roots.
Name the three
(3) Central
Americans
countries whose
wars caused
millions of people
to migrated north
beginning in the
1970s.
Answer:
• Guatemala
• El Salvador
• Nicaragua
Answer:
California –
Prop.187, 1994
Arizona –
Prop.200, 2004
The first and only
Raza-led political
party in the
United States.
Answer:
La Raza Unida
Political Party
established in
1970.
400 Points
Double Jeopardy
Unifying language
that was spoken in
the northern
hemisphere
(CanadaNicaragua)
Answer/s:
Nahuatl/ Uto-Azteca
500 Points
The name/s that
Native and Raza
people had for the
Western
Hemisphere.
Answer/s:
Turtle Island,
Anahuak, Abya Yala
The first mass
action that was
youth-led and
focused on
Educational
issues in
California.
Answer:
The 1968 East
LA Blowouts
These seven (7)
states were
coerced from
Mexico when
the Treaty of
Guadalupe
Hidalgo was
signed at the
end of the
MexicanAmerican War
in 1848.
Answer/s:
California,
Nevada,
Arizona,
Colorado, New
Mexico, Texas,
Utah
This labor union
was created by
a Filipino
organizer, Phillip
Veracruz to
unite and
improve the
working
conditions of all
farmworkers.
Answer:
The United
Farm Workers
(UFW) was the
union where
Dolores Huerta
and Cesar
Chavez led
campaigns for
basic rights for
farm workers,
who were
mostly Raza.
These two (2)
groups were
invaded,
enslaved and
colonized by the
Spanish crown
for over 400
years combined.
Answer::
The Philippines
& Raza in most
of Latin America
In the 1950’s the
attack and
criminalization of
Raza youth by
police, the navy
and patriotic
whites is known
as this.
Answer:
The Zoot Suit
Riots
The Immigration
Reform and
Responsibility Act
of 1996 has had
disproportunately
targeted gangaffiliated youth of
these two (2)
ethnic
backgrounds.
Answer:
South East Asian
& Raza
(300% increase in
incarceration &
deportation)
Double
Jeopardy
This 1930’s
California lawsuit
inspired and led
to the Brown vs.
Board of
Education
decision that
desegregated all
schools in the
U.S.
Answer:
Alvarez vs.
Board of
Trustees of
Lemon Grove
School
Name two (2)
countries that
have banned U.S.
and British
petroleum
products.
Answer:
• Venezuela
• Bolivia
• Uruguay
• Cuba
Ethnic Studies: Raza Leaders & Movements
Day 2: Movie
Participants will learn and gain knowledge on RAZA culture and history.
LESSON GOALS:

Introduce students to the RAZA community

Introduce students to basic RAZA historical facts

Have students want to learn more about RAZA history
LESSON AGENDA:
Check-in (5 min)
Movie (60 min)
Discussion Questions (10 min)
Closing (5 min)
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Movie: Viva La Causa! 500 Years of Chicano History
Questions
1: CHECK-IN
2 MINUTES
a. What is one thing you know about RAZA culture, or community?
2: MOVIE (VIVA LA CAUSA 00 YEARS OF CHICANO HISTORY)
60 MINUTES
3: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
10 MINUTES

What happened in the movie?

Why is it important to know Raza History or culture?

Do we learn these stories in school why or why not?

How are Raza people similar to your own culture and history?
4: CHECK OUT
a. What’s one thing you learned today?
10 MINUTES