Chicano Movement Research Paper

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By the 1960's, Mexican Americans came up with a new identity known as chicanismo which became a part of a movement. The Chicano movement is a continuation of the Mexican Civil Rights movement which began in the 1940's. Even though Lyndon B. Johnson helped improve opportunities for Mexican Americans, there was still struggle with racism and poverty. The goals of Chicanos was to resist social injustice and address issues like farm workers’ rights, political rights and education. I argue that Mexican Americans began the Chicano Movement in a response to lack of opportunities because of factors like civil rights, education and politics. One of the most important parts of the Chicano movement was the resistance of social injustice by Chicano farm workers. Chicano farmworkers were paid the lowest wages and had terrible living and working conditions. These workers were tired of living in poverty and terrible conditions so they joined a movement of farmworkers. In 1965, a strike for higher wages for grape workers was called by Cesar Chavez in Delano, California. The United farm workers called for a consumer boycott of table grapes which was nationwide. Filipino,…show more content…
Many student organizations like MECHA grew in the 1960’s. MECHA stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan and was formed during the 1960’s. The focus of this organization was to unify and empower Chicanos and bring liberation on all campuses. Another organization that address issues of education was the Mexican American Youth Organization. This organization was founded by Jose Angel Gutierrez, in 1967. (Major Problems in Mexican American History: Documents and Essays pg. 383) Jose Angel Gutierrez had projects such as Crystal City and the Winter Garden project. The Winter Garden project main purpose was to redeem a county area in south Texas for Chicanos (Major Problems in Mexican American History: Documents and Essays pg.

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