CHICANO STUDIES 101
Instructors Notes
Developed by Charlene Garica Simms

UNIT 4

Chapter 8

This chapter focuses on the beginning of the United Farm Workers Union and how the struggle of the farm workers became a focus of the Chicano Movement.

  # Cesar Chavez was different from the other Chicano leaders who emerged from the Chicano Movement. He was not militant-he had a quiet demeanor, sometimes mistaken for passivity, a misconception. Cesar’s formal training went back to the 1950’s with the Community Services Organization (CSO) and his involvement with Fred Ross, a CSO trainer in community organizing.
  # Chavez also befriended Gil Padilla, a farm worker who was with the UFW until 1982. CSO did not focus on unions and Cesar and Gil were focusing on farm workers and unionizing them so they could get unemployment insurance, minimum wage, etc. Cesar met resistance from CSO and went off on his own, taking Gil Padilla with him. Dolores Huerta made “los tres” (the three) of the union complete. They were all convinced the farm workers needed effective labor unions. Chavez was very methodical in his organizing efforts.
  # Chavez went from house to house. He was grateful to have one success in a day’s work.
  # He paid personal attention to the members.
  # He got paid very little. In 1964 he was getting $40 a week salary.
  # Their first strike against the flower growers netted them a 120% raise in salary but did not give them a contract.
  # The victory was small but encouraging.
  # He then targeted the grape growers.
  # Chavez refused to take money from outside sources that could compromise their goals.
  # Chavez realized that a strike, as the only tool was not enough
  # The Bracero Program had ended by 1965 –“that took a legal weapon from the growers.”
  # Chavez projected a Ghandi-King image
  # The plan was set for a 250-mile march from Delano to Sacramento in April 1966.
  # Luis Valdez, with El Teatro Campesino was very influential in bringing the plight of the farm worker to the public’s eye and the union members through Chicano Theater.
  # Chavez got the support of religious groups. This would have been impossible if the union had projected a radical image.
  # Many students joined in the march and the cause.
  # Symbols used in the farm worker activities were La Virgen de Guadalupe, Emiliano Zapata posters, the black eagle and others.
  # Chavez knew they needed to do more before they could get to the negotiating table.
  # The boycott was used and succeeded. Schenley Liquor Company was the first to negotiate. When they reached the capital on April 11, 1966, other grape growers were ready to negotiate. It seemed the battle was over. Unfortunately it would last several more years.
  # Chavez used non-traditional union tactics. He won favorable publicity and intimidated employers by demonizing them. Senator Robert Kennedy helped bring the problems of the farm workers to the attention of the nation.
  # The teamster union started to undercut the organizing efforts of Chavez and his followers.
  # The union continued working with one grower at a time and decided to target the biggest grower, The Guimarra Vineyards Corporation.
  # Chavez organized the biggest boycott campaign throughout the nation.
  # Other growers lend Guimarra their labels so their grapes could be shipped which caused a boycott of all the grape growers that lasted much longer than originally anticipated.
  # Among many setbacks the union had to fight strike breakers from Mexico; work with limited resources; deal with frustrated union members and unsanctioned sabotage.
  # Chavez believed in non-violence and decided to use a hunger strike. The fast enhanced his image which was deteriorating.
  # The fast revitalized the boycott and persuaded millions not to eat grapes. It became the most successful boycott in history.
  # The growers who negotiated started using the union label. Other growers wanted to follow suit. The union wanted all growers to sign a contract.
  # Chavez sent Dolores Huerta to negotiate because she drove the hardest bargain. The signing of the contracts took place on July 29, 1970, after years of trying.
  # The problems did not end. Some of the contracts with other farmers of different products such as lettuce provided no job security, no seniority rights, no hiring hall, and no protection against insecticides. Lettuce was harder to boycott.
  # Bloody battles were incited between the UFWOC and the Teamsters.
  # President Nixon had goaded the union by publicly eating grapes. This occurred with Governor Ronald Regan also eating grapes publicly. Battling each governor took its toll. Having to fight from all sides and the passing of Proposition 22 drained the energy and money of the UFW. Proposition 22 would outlaw the secondary boycott which was an important tool to the farm workers.
  # The organizers planned another march from San Francisco to the Gallo farms on February 22, 1975. By then there was a more liberal governor, Jerry Brown. The strike had taken a tremendous toll on everyone. Brown introduced a bill called the Agricultural Labor Relations Act.
  # This decision was bitter sweet. It did not allow for secondary boycotts. The UFW seemed to be going backward instead of forward and the next governor would favor the growers.
  # In 1984 a third grape boycott was issued to protest pesticide use as harmful to the workers. In 1988 Chavez went on another fast but was did not have the impact as before.
  # There has also been a continuous struggle between the farm workers and immigrants from Mexico, documented and undocumented.
  # Chavez never called himself a Chicano and although accused of hogging the movement he had not sought to identify with the movement. Because of national attention it was pushed into the movement. If the UFW could benefit with this identification so-be-it. It was great struggle for Chavez and his followers. They had very meager resources, living simply.
  # The struggle continues.

Chapter 9 – In Quest of A Homeland
 
While Cesar Chavez had a Ghandi-like image, Reies Lopez Tijerina defied the establishment right in their face as did his organization, the Alianza federal de las Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants). His tactics were dramatic and sometimes went over the line. Some of his preaching was separatism. He referred to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, and cited the loss of land to the Citizens by Default either by trick or legal maneuvers.

On June 6, 1967, he led the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse raid. READ PAGE 156. How did Reies Lopez Tijerina, a Texas-born Mexican-American, with no roots in northern New Mexico, become the leader of a uniquely New Mexican movement?

   1. Oratorical flair
   2. Piercing intelligence
   3. Most importantly, the ability to understand the resentment that village-dwelling farmers held towards those who usurped their land – Anglo farmers, developers and the federal government. (Tijerina offered hope to the villagers that they could recover their ancestral lands).

Battles for land had been going on for years. Secret Hispanic societies formed which burned building, cut fences, killed livestock. In turn Anglo farmers retaliated.

An investigations into the land grant controversy ensued. The governor asked Myra Allen Jenkins, state archivist and historian to research the claims. Her report was devastating to the claimants. She stated that many members of the so-called Alianza were not descendants of any Spanish or land grantees. She insinuated that there were outside influences which were reopening an old issue. Apparently, no one argued her points. This is what the governor was needing to hear. Her testimony discredited the movement and Tijerina did not get the respect he needed. His portrayal was seen as shady to say the least. In addition, Tijerina was fighting prominent Hispanic New Mexicans who had a good comfort base in New Mexico’s hierarchy.

The worst part of this story is the empathy shown over the whole situation. The government and mass media did not care to understand the reasons for the existence of the “Alianza and the deeply-rooted grievances of the rural Spanish Americans.”

If they had tried to open dialogue, the violence that happened could have been avoided. This can be attributed to an attitude of just not caring and ignorance. Has this changed? Another incident which angered the Hispanics earlier and caused national attention was the 1966 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hearing held in Albuquerque. Chicanos walked out of the hearings in protest to the disinterested, condescending way in which the hearing was being conducted. The walk out was very symbolic, some called it the second El Grito. It was a sign that Chicanos had had enough. Ya Basta—again. It also paved the way for the new generation to use confrontation.

Several incidents where members of the Alianza were arrested occurred, but the highlight was on May 14, 1967, when the group chose the old Tierra Amarilla land grant to focus on and sabotage against them increased. As will be seen in the video, Quest for a Homeland, the National Guard was called in. The rebellion was on.
The government used several illegal and unconstitutional methods to prevent the meeting that was to take place at the Tierra Amarillo courthouse. A roundup of Alianza members took place—8 were arrested-- and the media supported it without any mention to civil rights violations. On June 5, Tijerina, reasoned that Alfonso Sanchez, the County Attorney had violated the civil rights of the imprisoned men, therefore he was subject to a citizen’s arrest. Other members from the Alianza took matters into their own hands and chaos ensued. Two officers were wounded, one critically. The National Guard officers, mostly Hispanic, feared killing their own people so the State Police had to come into the picture. The county attorney and the governor put the blame on each other. Tijerina ended up defending himself. The county jury, all Hispanic, found all of the defendants not guilty. When the federal case came up, the trial was moved to Albuquerque and when the jury selected was all Anglo, the Alianza asked for a change of venue. This went against them when the trial was moved to Las Cruces to a district where Mexicans were not very popular.

The governor testified that these people had lost their water and grazing rights. Was there any doubt why they were bitter. Tijerina was sentenced to time in prison.

Tijerina’s hold on a leadership position was eroded. On January 2, 1968, one of the deputies hurt during the Tierra Amarilla raid was shot to death outside Tierra Amarilla. Suspicion immediately fell on the Alianza but rumors were that his killing might have been the work of Tijerina’s enemies to discredit the Alianza movement. Hostilities against the Alianza continued. In the midst of all this Dr. Martin Luther King invited Tiejerina and members of the Alianza to join him in the Poor People’s March on Washington. Tijerina was arrested and before he was freed, King was assassinated.

After Tijerina came out of prison in 1971 he had a different philosophy which many former Alianza members did not agree with. Why had he changed? While incarcerated he was not only harassed but his wife was allegedly molested sexually by men believed associated with the Albuquerque police. His life savings, impounded after a sign burning arrest, was never recovered. In 1973 a state policeman sexually molested his adolescent son. Because of his strange behavior after being released, rumors were that he had been given mind-altering drugs while in prison. What was speculation and what was true? Something happened to change the man. He was again incarcerated in 1974.

Despite the Alianza having caused a division in New Mexicans it brought the plight to the nation of one of the most impoverished areas of the U. S. and they got help from the Home and Livelihood program. It also energized other Hispanics in New Mexico and throughout the country into joining in civil rights activities and pushing for educational reform. (Refer back to Taking Back the Schools Video.)

Chapter 11 and 12:
The Chicano Moratorium and the Youth of Aztlan: Read Chapter 11 & 12, and handout.

The rise and fall of the Brown Berets – As the Brown Berets spread their wings to other states they did not receive a good reception.

Chicana leaders emerged such as Maria Varela who joined the Alianza. She had a lot of experience with Black Civil Rights activity in Chicago. She formed relationships with Chicano activists such as Luis Valdez and Reies Lopez Tijerina. She helped to found cooperatives and a free clinic in Tierra Amarilla.

Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez, published the newspaper, El Grito del Norte. Later she would go on to publish several books and get the Chicano Movement recorded in words and pictures. Other leaders emerged. It is important to note that the Chicano Movement contrasted from state to state. See page 223-224.

As we saw in the short clip I showed last week, Texas took on a battle for political empowerment. Jose Angel Gutierrez formed La Raza Unida which expanded to other states. He also fought for educational reform in Texas.

Chapter 13 - The Road to Political Empowerment

By the early 70’s Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales saw himself becoming the national leader of the Chicano Movement. He had coordinated the successful 1969 National Chicano Liberation Youth Conference. He had written I Am Joaquin and was called on to read it time and again at national prominent activities. It became the Movement anthem. One of his objectives was to consolidate his power within the Chicano Movement so that he could plant the seeds of separatism. (See page 230)

Corky Gonzales was different from Cesar Chavez—he was confrontational and that was as powerful as Cesar’s quiet demeanor. Corky made sense—he was not fanatical as Tijerina was often seen to be. The things Corky accomplished in bringing the Chicano Movement forward were many, especially in fighting police brutality in Colorado and improving education for Chicanos. He also took a lot of personal abuse from the police and the FBI.

He had founded the Crusade for Justice in 1966, which was a civil rights organization without involvement in electoral politics. But, by 1972 he found himself fighting for leadership in La Raza Unida Party. He fought for the presidency at the first convention in El Paso in 1972. His opponent was Jose Angel Gutierrez. Gutierrez won.

La Raza Unida Party was seen as a threat to both Establishment Mexican Americans and Anglos, who consequently went out of their way to sabotage its effectiveness. Along with internal problems La Raza Unida Party did not have strong support.

Historical Amnesia – So what happened after 1972?

   1. The Chicano Moratorium was the apex of the movement. When Ruben Salazar was killed it seemed to have killed the spirit of the movement. Other Chicanos became martyrs and each time someone was killed it took its toll.
   2. Ricardo Falcon, age 26, shot by self-proclaimed racist, in Oro Grande, NM, on August 28, 1972, over a water dispute for Falcon’s radiator.
   3. Luis Martinez, Jr., age 19, shot by police in Denver, 3-17-1973


1. The following became known as Los Seis de Boulder (The Six of Boulder-see handout)

  # Una Jaakola- car bombing, Boulder, May 27, 1974, age 24

  # Neva Arlene Romero, car bombing, Boulder, May 27, 1974, age 21

  # Reyes Paul Martinez, car bombing, Boulder, May 27, 1974, age 26

  # Heriberto Teran, car bombing, Boulder, May 29, 1974, age 24

  # Francisco Dougherty, car bombing, Boulder, May 29, 1974, age 22

  # Florencio Freddei Granado, car bombing, Boulder, May 29, 1974, age 32

  # Carlos Zapata, package bomb, Denver, May 1979

2.  La Raza Unida Party never took off but it did focus attention on obstacles such as gerrymandering which prevented solid Mexican voting districts from existing.

3. MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) was founded in 1968. In 1973 it hired Vilma Martinez to oversee the organization’s rise to prominence. Over the years it dealt with cases affecting Mexican Americans collectively, such as those dealing with educational neglect, bilingual education, affirmative action and the rights of undocumented workers.

4. Another organization which was very successful was the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP) which focused on registering Chicanos to vote, led by Willie Velasquez.

5. Student protests in the early 70’s made a dent in the educational system.

6. The most visible legacy of the Chicano Movement is related to the formation of economic and community empowerment organizations.

7. The Chicano Movement accelerated the struggle to end discrimination in hiring known as Affirmative Action Programs.

8. Community service organizations were replicated. Some used the Saul Alinksy Industrial Area Foundation methods of which Cesar Chavez had relied on. The methodology used is to identify the problems that most antagonize a community and then organize its inhabitants around these issues. Confrontational tactics are used, but without ideological underpinnings other than self-interest. The organizers of both groups are all Chicanos, but they are not allowed to use nationalism as a motivation.

9. The 80’s was supposed to be the decade of the Hispanic-NOT. The post Chicano generation, while having achieved several goals, found that they had underestimated the resistance to change in society at large and overestimated its own capacity to resolve long-standing problems such as: political apathy; internal squabbles within organizations; little common ground within the umbrella of the Hispanic community; no alliance with other minority groups; .

10. Criticism of social programs for underprivileged minorities from journalist Richard Rodriguez and Linda Chavez, an influential Republican affiliated with the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D. C., hurt some strides the Chicano Movement had made.

11. One of the most harmful things that happened to the Chicano Movement was the radical change in the climate of opinion, as reflected in Republican ascendance and political life--the Regan administration. Back-sliding started taking place. Several accomplishments made because of the Chicano Movement were undermined, set back or eliminated.

12. Programs such as EOP (Educational Opportunity Programs) and

Affirmative action programs that had helped boost enrollment in colleges for Hispanics, were threatened in the mid 1990’s when the Regents of the University of California by Governor Wilson and political ally Ward Connerly, voted to terminate admission policies based on affirmative action. This fateful decision was supported by California voters in 1996 when they overwhelmingly endorsed Proposition 209.

Proposition 209 - said that "preferential treatment" was forbidden on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin. It said nothing about class or religion. The proposition was interpreted as making "affirmative action" unconstitutional insofar as it applied to California public institutions. Implications: the remedy for discrimination was taken away from plaintiffs since the institutions were not required to recruit or enroll minorities. Charges of reverse discrimination were used as tools to pass this proposition. This greatly hurt economically disadvantaged minorities in getting into higher education. It was driven by mean-spirited people, such as the Voice of Citizens Together, led by Glenn Spencer, who ranted and raved about the Mexican invasion of the U. S. It was well funded and operated a through campaign to change the definition of fairness. It showcased the propositions that ""We live in a classless society. There is equal opportunity for all and work hard enough and you'll make it to the middle-class heaven.'" Source: Occupied America by Rodolfo Acuña, 4th edition.

13. Other Propositions which affected the Chicano population were: Proposition 187 (California-1994) - It denied illegal immigrants health care, welfare and public education.

14. Proposition 227 - In 1998 voters in California voted for the "English for Children" which ended bilingual education in California. Implications: It made snitches out of teachers. If a teacher continued to use a foreign language to teach they could be prosecuted and had to pay their own legal fees.

15. The reality of poverty. The 1991 census data was daunting, specifically to Mexicans. More than 28.1% of Mexicans lived under the poverty level. Unemployment rate exceeded 10% that year. While 85% of the general population had medical insurance, only about 20% of the Mexican-origin community could afford Health coverage. Many Mexicans were immigrants, which meant they also had language difficulties.

16. Some of the problems that Mexicans have are accentuated by cultural factors which are products of a historical rather than a genetic inheritance, including poverty itself.

17. Battle of the scholars and statisticians.

18. Changing factors in the 90’s: urbanization; materialism; drugs; decline of religion; influence of television, gangs, teenage pregnancies; Chicana feminism; interethnic marriages., etc.

19. Latinos have become major consumers. With a growing middle class, forming a Hispanic market, Hispanics are a major target of business corporation. Is this good or bad?

20. The Chicano Renaissance

Chapter 14 – Was the Chicano Movement a success? Did it end? Was it betrayed?

Instead of one Chicano Movement, were there many?

Don’t be fooled by the decline of many aspects of the Chicano Movement—the legacy it left is of such magnitude it will be felt for generations to come.

It doesn’t matter if you hated the Chicano Movement, were above it or indifferent to it, it affected every Chicano. Even those who were made uncomfortable with it because of its militancy and demands BENEFITED from it.

Most of the leaders from the 60’s are no longer active and the actions are not the same, but the spirit of the Chicano Movement has followed us into the 21st century and is affecting the present generation in a way they will never realize. Did a new paradigm emerge—not completely—but it started a new way of thinking and one day the paradigm shift might be complete.

The movement can be seen in the following;

1. Identity

2. The arts (Art, Literature, Music, Dance, Theater)

3. Intellectual traditions

4. Popular culture

5. Civil rights activism

6. Political behavior

7. Gender identity

8. Workplace defense (Unionization, lawsuits)

9. Education (Scholarships)

10. Entry into the legal system (MALDEF)

There were many attempts to change things for the better in the decades preceding the Chicano Movement and these efforts and heroics by many cannot be overlooked or forgotten. However, the Chicano Movement Civil Rights Movement happened at a time when the politics of protest were happening all over the country and the Chicanos saw this as an opportunity to be heard and make long-lasting changes.

The efforts of those who fought for Civil Rights for Chicanos in the 60’s and 70’s can now see their efforts come to fruition with the new generation of Chicanos and the Chicano Movement is still building. The way the new generation continues the Chicano Movement will be different from the leaders of the 60’s and 70’s. They may not even realize that they are part of that movement and making strides to continue and improve upon it. A large number of the younger generation do not even know about the Chicano Movement, much less do they relate to it or the term “Chicano” but the reality is that they are in the thick of it. The future will tell. The population is growing at a tremendous pace and while it seemed that the Chicano population was assimilating—are they? Are other groups taking on some of the traits of the Chicano culture? After all, salsa is outselling ketchup.

Note: Some 2000 census data is out and there are interpretations of it as far as the Mexican American population. Most startling is the high drop-out rate. We will be touching on statistics and other current matters of concern to this population in the presentations next week. When working with this population one has to realize that it is not one-dimensional. Several factors enter the big picture such as: How long have they been in the United States. Are they descendants from the Citizens by Default; the first influx of immigrants; the second influx of immigrants; new arrivals (1980’s-1990’s); recent arrivals. Their needs, problems and applicable solutions are based a lot on knowing their history.

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