Latinos Fight for Rights

1. Latinos Fight for Rights The Main Idea In the 1960s Latinos struggled to achieve social justice. Reading Focus • What were the lives of Latinos like in the early 1960s? • What event launched Latinos’ struggle for social justice? • What were the main goals of the movements for Latino rights?

2. Latinos in the Early 1960s • More than 900,000 Latinos lived in the United States in 1960. A Latino is any person of Latin American descent. • One-third of Mexican American families lived below the poverty line and twice as many Mexican Americans as white Americans were unemployed. • Latinos faced discrimination in education. • Schools had less qualified teachers, fewer resources, and shabbier facilities. • In politics Latinos had far less power than the size of their population warranted.

3. Latinos’ Struggle for Social Justice • Latinos sought social justice—the fair distribution of advantages and disadvantages in society. Social Justice • He co-founded the National Farm Workers Association—a union of Mexican American farmworkers. • His leadership inspired many Mexican Americans to fight discrimination in their lives. César Chávez

4. The Delano Grape Strike • In 1965 migrant farm workers went on strike in California and asked people to boycott grapes. The workers wanted to put pressure on growers to meet their demands for better pay an better working conditions • Dolores Huerta and César Chávez agreed to help. • Some 5,000 grape workers walked off their jobs. • The Delano Grape Strike lasted for five years. • Union activists and sympathetic volunteers stood in front of grocery stores nationwide, urging Americans not to buy grapes. • The growers finally gave in and finally settled with the union. • The success of the strike made César Chávez a national figure.

5. The Movement for Latino Rights Chicano Movement • A shortened form of mexicanos • Wanted to convey ethnic pride and commitment to political activism • Reies López Tijerina was an early Chicano leader who formed the Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants). • Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, another leading figure in the Chicano movement, founded the Crusade for Justice. • A group of college students in Texas formed the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO). • José Angel Gutiérrez founded La Raza Unida Party (RUP). • Working-class Chicano students in Los Angeles formed the Brown Berets, one of the most militant organizations in the Chicano movement.

6. Brown Berets One of the most militant organizations in the Chicano movement Began by protesting against police brutality in East Los Angeles Supported efforts of Chicanos to regain their historic lands, the National Farm Workers’ campaigns, and protested high number of Chicano deaths in Vietnam Disbanded in 1972 Movement for Latino Rights La Raza Unida • Gutiérrez formed RUP (“the united people”) political party • Campaigned for bilingual education, improved public services, education for children of migrant workers, and an end to job discrimination • Disagreements among RUP leaders caused the party to fall apart in the late 1970s.

7. Cuban Americans Many Cubans who came to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s were seeking escape from Fidel Castro's Communist Government The majority of immigrants were professionals and business people. Most Cuban Americans who organized for change were seeking changes for Cuba—the overthrow of Castro and communism. Movement for Latino Rights Boricua Movement • Name by which many Puerto Ricans refer to themselves • Many Puerto Ricans migrated to the mainland United States in order to escape slow economic growth and lack of opportunity in Puerto Rico • Immigrants experienced social and economic discrimination. • Boricua Movement’s goals were self-government for Puerto Rico and better conditions for all Puerto Ricans.

8. Three Movements for Latino RightsCopy the chart, fill in the missing information using your notes and book

9. Three Movements for Latino RightsCopy the chart, fill in the missing information using your notes and book