The guiding questions below are drawn from the readings and lectures for week two.
The Chicana/o Movement is a product of activism by a new generation of Mexican American activists. Fomented by the Mexican American experience during WW II both at home and abroad, this new generation of activists openly repudiates the failed promises of assimilation. This rejection of an assimilationist strategy resulted in a new sense of identity, one that attempts to reclaim a rich indigenous past that draws from culture to reclaim an almost obliterated history and language.
In a 1-2 page essay and drawing from the readings and lectures for week 2, please answer the following questions:
1. What spaces were created for Mexican American Women as a result of their participation in the war effort in the home front?
2. What are the major demands in a quest for a homeland?
3. How Reies Lopez Tijerina’s activism represents a continuation of earlier activism, i.e., Gorras Blancas activism?
4. What were the actions and collaboration that led to the creation of the UFW?
5. What is the significance of the founding of the Raza Unida Party?
Read: *Ignacio García, “Rejecting the Liberal AgendaPreview the document,” in Chicanismo: The Forging of a Militant Ethos Among Mexican-Americans, chapter 1, pp. 19-42.
Read: *David Correia, “ ‘Rebellion Will Be Their Reward’: New Mexico’s Las Gorras Blancas and the Fight for the Las Vegas Land Grant CommonsPreview the document.” Radical History Review, Issue 108, Fall 2010, pp. 49-72.
The Chicano/a Movement: Labor Organizing in the Fields
Read: Escobedo, Chapters 2 and 3.
Read: *”César Chávez ReadingsPreview the document”