Civil Rights - United States, Latino Politics, Mexican Americans & Chicanos

Chicano!

Name: Chicano!
Author: F. Arturo Rosales
ISBN: 9781558851528

by F. Arturo Rosales

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Overview

Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement designates four major episodes of the Mexican civil rights struggle in the United States. Chapter One features efforts of the "lost-land" generation (southwest Mexican natives) to stem property losses, maintain their culture and assert civil rights given them by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the US takeover of the Southwest in the mid-nineteenth century. The second portion, Chapters Two to Five, views immigrant attempts in the early part of this century to protect themselves from a hostile American public. In the effort to safeguard their civil rights, an elaborate Mexico Lindo (Pretty Mexico) nationalism emerged that immigrants used to rally around issues of repression. Chapters Six and Seven look at the optimistic Mexican American generation made up primarily of children of immigrants who did not have ties to Mexico. Not only did this generation demand the civil rights to which they were entitled, but they also strove to acculturate to Anglo American culture without turning their backs on their Mexican heritage. In addition, Mexican Americans in this era made the greatest attempts to empower themselves as workers. The final and most lengthy section of the book traces the evolution of the Chicano Movement and assesses its legacy. It takes the reader through the most turbulent days of civil unrest and grass-roots organizing in Mexican American history.

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Editorials

Library Journal

In this companion volume to the 1996 PBS series of the same name, Rosales (history, Arizona State Univ.) describes the ten-year period of the Chicano movement from about 1965 to 1975. The author also situates the political movement of this time period in the historical context of 19th- and early 20th-century political activity. As such, his work is a valuable historical summary of political activism of Latinos of Mexican descent. An underlying theme is the discussion of their role in the overall American Civil Rights movement of the Sixties and Seventies. The value of Rosales's book is enhanced by the use of interview transcripts done for the TV series. The volume will be valuable for all libraries with collections on U.S. history.-Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, Utah

Booknews

Produced in conjunction with the four-part Public Broadcasting Service series of the same name, this history details the struggles of the Mexican American community for equality and identity. It focuses on land, labor, educational reform, and political government, presenting history in the context of these themes for a broad general audience. The volume features clean page design, some b&w photos, a bibliography, and a chronology. Rosales is a historian with direct experience in the Chicano civil rights movement. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

This book traces the history of the struggle for Chicano Civil Rights from the 1800s to the 1970s. The author looks at the individuals and cultural forces that shaped the history of the movement, and focuses on the period from 1965 to 1975. Issues addressed include property rights, immigrant Mexican nationalism in the US, the impact of the children of immigrants born as US citizens, and the search for acceptance amidst a hostile American public. The book is designed to accompany a four-part documentary television series of the same name, which is available on video following its release by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Raul Nino

Rosales offers a sorely needed chronicle of the fastest-growing so-called minority population in the U.S. He reaches back to the Mexican-American War, as a result of which Mexican territory was cut in half and tens of thousands of Mexicans became Americans overnight. The author then discusses the Mexican Revolution and its effect on emigration. The book is an education and inspiration; particularly, the moving chapter on the United Farm Workers and its founder and leader, Cesar Chavez, will give light and hope to anyone who has doubts about the power of love and peace to move and change social, political, and economic ills.