Introduction
Chicano was a movement that was initiated in1960. It was born out of a 1940s movement known as Mexican American Civil Rights. Its main aim was to empower the Mexicans who were in America in the 1960s (Bebout, 12). Chicano was a word initially used as a belittling tag for the daughters and sons of Mexican immigrants.
History of Mexican Americans in the USA
In 1846 the Mexican–American War broke out. This deadly war was due to the annexation of Texas which Mexico considered to be part of its territory despite the Texas revolution of 1836. The gigantic America won several battles while weakening Mexico in many aspects. The war finally came to an end in 1848 when a number of treaties were signed in a bid to stop the hostilities. Mexico lost about a third of its territory including present day New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California (Bebout,54). Though the war had ended many Mexicans found themselves in America, a foreign land, as they tried to escape the war and others who went there as combatants. In America, they were not recognized as Americans and formed Mexican Americans, a group that was highly discriminated and trodden by the Americans. The Mesoamericans were a group Mexican Americans in the middle of America a place where early civilization started.
Why the movement blossomed
Occupants of both sides of the boundary did not want to be associated with the new group of Mexican Americans because, on their view, they were neither Mexican nor Americans. People started acknowledging Chicano to be a sign of ethnic egotism and self-determination in the 1960s. This instilled confidence on the Mexican Americans who had faced discrimination for quite a long period.
The movement addressed racism, exploitation and discrimination in private and public institutions. After World War II, Chicano gained momentum since other civil rights groups joint in to fight for the rights of the Mexican Americans. One very particular occasion that made Chicano movement blossom on the eyes of Mexican Americans was when it intervened in a case where a Mexican American who was killed during WWII was repudiated memorial services in a town where he used to reside. Its success in the matter was a major triumph for all Mexican Americans.
Notably, activists from Chicano movement had committed themselves to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the segregated groups. They gave a helping hand in several court cases and victory was on their side. For instance, in 1947, the Supreme Court ruling declared that it was unconstitutional to segregate children of Latin and Mexican decent (McCubbin, 43).
The Chicano movement also fought to recapture possession and control of what they considered to be the ancestral lands of Mexican Americans. Through this movement so many poor Mexican Americans were able to obtain their lands and regain pride of their status. Its concern with social and political issues cannot be underestimated. Through his poem (I am Joaquin) Rodolfo helped in describing what it meant to be a Chicano. This awakened the people’s political awareness (McCubbin, 173). By so doing, the movement attracted more people into it and its strength increased. They were then in a better position to fight for enhanced living conditions for the historically-segregated groups.
Of late, Chicano movement has been striving to increase community education programs to educate people on their voice and power, the intelligent representation of Chicanos in mainstream American media and also increasing the participation of minorities in the American democratic process. All this activities and engagements have made Chicano movement to flourish.
Works cited
Bebout, Lee. Mythohistorical Interventions: The Chicano Movement and Its Legacies. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011. Print.
McCubbin, Hamilton I. Resiliency in Native American and Immigrant Families. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications, 1998. Print.
