Chicanos movement revisited changes that helped all

voxxiBy Eduardo Stanley, Voxxi

“My birth certificate of 1943 says my race is ‘Mexican’!,” explains amused Dr. Jorge Garcia, a veteran of the Chicano Movement in California’s Central Valley. “In 1965, among nine thousands students at California State University, Fresno, only 65 —yes, 65!— were of Mexican origin! We wondered why because most local high schools were full of Latino students.”

Garcia started discovering what he calls a state of discrimination at college level. He will become part of the Movement that would bring changes that ultimately lead to the creation of La Raza Studies— now defunct.

Chicano history

Garcia’s comments were part of the Chicano History Revisited, a one-day conference that took place in Fresno, Saturday, August 31, and which organizers believe could bring not only memories back but the foundation of a Chicano Movement Archive in California Central Valley.

“We have this history here (pointing to his heart) and here (pointing to his head), but we need to tell it to others, we need to pass it on,” says Garcia.

The conference was organized around three panels divided by three time-periods: 1966-1967, 1968-1969 and 1970-1971.

Time of changes

During those years, 1966 – 1971, several movements happened in our country, influencing the Chicano Movement, such as the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, Women’s Movement, Black Power, Free Speech Movement, and more, opening doors to deep social changes seeking social justice and equality.

“We can’t ignored the influence that the farm workers movement had on us,” said Dr. Lea Ybarra, a former CSUF professor. “When the farm workers marching to Sacramento stopped on campus, the impression on us was very strong… They were not only looking for better working conditions but also their struggle was for dignity and justice.”

This struggle helped Latino students to define their agenda, and more. According to Ybarra, “we understood then what mean to be Chicano, we started to get more involved.”

Students all over the state —and all over the Southwest— established local organizations and later got together under Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or MECHA, in 1969.

Chicano students

Chicano students presented their demands to college administrators who couldn’t avoid any longer the pressure. The results included the creation of La Raza Studies departments, financial aid and scholarships available, more Latino professors and students in most campuses, and more.

Women got involved

“Women started to get more involved. Even during this period of time, most student leaders were men, we were relegated,” explains Ybarra to an audience of about 300 people. “Until we asked ourselves, what are they doing we can’t do?” Right after that, female students “rebelled” and started their long road to leadership.

The conference wasn’t dedicated only to college changes during the 60s and early 70s.

“Each generation has to define its own agenda,” says Rev Eleazar Risco. “For example, in Parlier —a small rural town south of Fresno— the problem then was the discriminatory attitude of law enforcement agencies toward Latinos… Even when it was time to hire officers.”

The conference also celebrated 43 years of Chicano Moratorium, the anti-Vietnam War Chicano movement.

Participants at the conference mentioned the high prize many activists paid for their involvement —in some cases, even their lives.
According to testimonies during the conference, Chicanos then faced high level of poverty and marginalization. They mostly worked as farm workers or in similar businesses, making literally impossible to overcome such conditions. That’s why it was common for Latino parents to motivate their children to seek higher education to “get out of the fields.”

But even in college, Chicanos faced rough times they challenged during the so-called Chicano Movement.

While some participants at the conference mentioned that many things remain the same today, like the poor living conditions of farm workers, they also listed some of the achievements of those struggles: bathrooms and fresh water in the fields, same access to financial opportunities for minorities students, less or none working discrimination at federal and state levels, and more. More over, all speakers agreed that the Chicano Movement brought dignity and sense of pride to the then looked down Mexican American people —and to all Latinos as well.

Slowing down

“The 60′s brought a tsunami of social changes,” says Esperanza Fierro Lopez during her presentation. “Because of the money from the War on Poverty, suddenly we started to administer social programs.”

The War on Poverty is the name given to a series of programs established by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. This project provided funds during several years aiming to reduce poverty. This way, many people of color got employment but for many, this was a turning point on the rebellious spirit of the Chicano Movement. In other words, some critics see this as a way from the government to control the rebellion.

And this could be one of the subjects of discussing at the next conference in 2014, organizers hope.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Stanley graduated from the University of La Plata, Argentina, and from the University of Bucharest, Rumania. In California he developed a career as a journalist and photographer. Stanley covered stories in several countries and also hosts a radio show.

[Photo by Eduardo Stanley]

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