The Chicano Movement

The Chicano Movement of several local outbursts of Mexican American activists throughout the United States. Although it is now all seen as a single movement, it was never unified because there were many groups within the movement that had their own goals and ideals that often did not coincide with those of other groups. Some of these were the United Farm Workers Union led by César Chavez, the Land Grant in New Mexico led by Ruiz Tijerana and La Raza Unida Party in Texas led by José Angel Gutierrez.

Part of the movement was the beginning of the militant identity: “Brown and Proud”, in a way imitating the “Black Pride” of African American movements, and also calling themselves Chicanos, a derogatory word previously used to describe those born north of Rio Grande.

Some of the general political goals of the Chicano movement were to eliminate the discrimination and economic disadvantages, to recognize a kinship with Mexico as well as a validity of Mexican American culture, to improve the lives of farm workers, to end segregation of Chicanos and police repression, and the struggle for political representation and self-determination.

Those who were part of the Chicano movement insisted on the inclusion of Chicano students, teachers and studies in the schools and universities. They also fomented a lot of research for Chicano History.