The fight for Hispanic American civil rights

Key individuals in the Chicano movement

Reies Tijerina

Reies Tijerina was born in Texas to Mexican-born parents.
He started working in the industry at the age of four.
He experienced racism from an early age.

In the early 1960s, Tijerina wrote in newspapers and spoke on the radio in New Mexico to promote the idea that the USA should return large areas of land in New Mexico to the local Hispanic community. Tijerina claimed that a treaty signed in 1848 between the USA and Mexico had been broken.

In 1967, Tijerina gained national attention when he raided a court house in New Mexico in an attempt to arrest a government official for not giving equal Tijerina was arrested and was eventually sent to prison in 1970. In between the raid and his time in prison, he became the Hispanic leader of the Poor People’s Campaign. This was an organisation that fought for support for people living below the

Tijerina brought the Chicano movement to national attention and his words were featured across multiple media platforms in New Mexico. However, upon his release from prison, Tijerina lost support from his followers as they saw his views on religion as too extreme.

Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales

Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales was born in Denver, Colorado, to Mexican-born parents.
His family worked in the agriculture and mining industries for low wages.
His mother died when he was young, which meant that he had to work in the sugar fields while also attending school.

Gonzales founded the in Denver, Colorado, to campaign for Chicano rights. For example, the organisation supported movements for low-paid workers and funding improvements in schools. Gonzales put an emphasis on gaining political power for the Hispanic community. He also promoted community culture and pride.

A photograph of two men holding up protest signs — Figure caption,
Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales (right) holds a sign promoting the NFWA’s strike in Denver. The word huelga means ‘strike’ in Spanish

Gonzales led his Chicano representatives in the 1968 Poor People’s March on Washington. This march took inspiration from the 1963 March on Washington. It aimed to use the media to bring attention to the difficulties experienced by people living in poverty. Its ultimate goal was to pressure the government to make changes for the poorest people living in society. Gonzales used the disproportionate number of Hispanic Americans who were dying in the as proof of the need to end He was arrested at an anti-war rally in Los Angeles in 1971. By the end of the war, in 1975, Gonzales had become less active in national campaigns.

Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez was born in Arizona to Mexican-born parents and grew up in California.
He left school to work in the agricultural industry to give his family financial support.
He moved between jobs until he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in 1962.
His aim was to gain improved conditions and pay for agricultural workers who joined his association.

Protests

The NFWA later became the United Farm Workers with Chavez as its leader. Chavez took inspiration from the non-violent protest strategy of Martin Luther King. The most prominent action Chavez undertook was in 1966, when he led a strike of over 5,000 of California’s grape pickers. Their objective was to gain improved wages and working conditions. The UFW asked shops and the public to stop buying Californian grapes during the strike. The strike lasted for five years and gained national media attention.

A photograph of Cesar Chavez among a group of protesters — Image caption,
Cesar Chavez protesting outside the headquarters of the supermarket company Safeway in San Diego, California

Chavez went on hunger strike for 25 days to increase the publicity surrounding the grape pickers’ strike. This attention brought support from Robert Kennedy. It also prompted an investigation into the work conditions by the government.

The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.

— Cesar Chavez commenting on the strikes held by the UFW

The pressure created by Chavez inspired similar actions across the country, in states such as Ohio and Texas. Eventually most of the farm owners in California signed agreements that secured improved wages for labourers in the agricultural industry.

Chavez’s final victory was to successfully put pressure on the state government of California to sign the 1975 California Agricultural Relations Act. This gave all farm workers the right to form or join unions and bargain for better conditions and pay as part of a group.

High school walkouts

In March 1968 around 20,000 Hispanic American students walked out of their high schools in Los Angeles in protest against:

from white students
poor-quality and outdated school buildings
a curriculum that did not include Hispanic content
teachers who could not speak Spanish
teachers being dismissed due to their political beliefs

The poor standard of education provided to the Hispanic American community was a factor in an the drop out rate, where Hispanic American students would leave education before completing their studies, reaching over 50 per cent. The walkout lasted a week. Senator Robert Kennedy spoke to the students as the media attention intensified.

Despite the attention the protests brought, there were no changes to the educational system of Los Angeles. The police made the protesters return to school and arrested 13 of the event organisers. All of them were eventually released without charge.

Native American civil rights

Hispanic Americans

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Broadening of the campaigns for civil rights - Race - OCR AThe fight for Hispanic American civil rights