Racism in the United States has been prevalent ever since the beginning of time; where discrimination was faced by all minority groups. We are often informed about the racial discrimination against African Americans, and how they’ve been a victim of abuse, torture and ill treatment at the hands of white supremacists.
What is interesting about the history of The United States is that during the time of the civil rights movement led by African American activists, there was a whole other minority group that was rallying for their rights too. The Latinos!
Latinos are people that come from the southern side of the country, Latin America. These are Americans who are descendants of people from Spain or Hispanic America, and, in some cases, from Portugal or Brazil. More generally, these demographics include all Americans who identify as Hispanic.
The Chicano Movement
During the 1960s, a radicalized Mexican-American development started pushing for a new identification. The Chicano Movement, otherwise known as El Movimiento, upheld social and political strengthening through a chicanismo or cultural nationalism. Prior to the Chicano Movement, victimization and discrimination against Mexican-Americans was typical to see on a normal day premise. Segregation was common in restaurants,court preliminaries, and some public spaces having signs that stated ‘No Mexicans Allowed’ or ‘Just White’ which made Mexican-Americans to speak up for the injustice against them.
The Chicano Movement encouraged three significant objectives which were:
- Rights for farm workers
- Restoration of lan
- Educational reform
The most notable figure of the movement was Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez was born on March 31,1927 and was a positive impact for this development since he made the United Farm Workers Union and was engaged with the Bracero Program.The grape growers and farm works was something he explicitly centered around.
A key goal of the chicano movement was to initiate the rights of farmworkers and make sure that they weren’t being discriminated against, and his Bracero Program did that.
The Bracero Program allowed illegal immigrants from Mexico to work hard labor for a small amount of money. Cesar Chavez was cherished in light of the fact that he raised his voice for the minority groups of Latinos.
This movement was encouraged by the Black movement that was being rallied on the streets to provide rights for African Americans. In general, the Chicano Movement did substantially more than change laws and working conditions for Mexican laborers. It gave Mexican-Americans the voice they merited strategically and made everybody mindful of how unreasonable and unfair this segregation was.
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
The organization that used legal strategies to win rights for Latinos was the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) which was founded in February, 1920. This group was formed to focus on the educational reforms of Latinos, and make sure that Latinos were not being denied their right to education.
The movement was made famous after World War II, when groups such as the American G.I. Forum (AGIF), which was founded by returning Mexican American veteran Dr. Hector P. Garcia, joined in the efforts by other civil rights organizations.
What was the Government’s Termination Policy?
In 1943 the United States Senate led a review of Indian conditions. The standard of living was below average and the routine conditions were beyond horrific, with the occupants living in extreme poverty. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the government administration were discovered to be responsible for the upsetting issues because of mismanagement of resources. Hence started the time of the government’s endeavors to destroy the Indian tribes of North America and this period was known as the Termination Policy.
The legislature accepted that there were tribes that were prepared to be important for standard American culture and not, at this point, required the security of the national government. Two tribes, the Klamaths who claimed significant timber property in Oregon and the Agua Caliente, who possessed the land around Palm Springs were a portion of the primary tribes to be influenced by the policy. These lands, wealthy in resources, were taken over by the Federal Government.
In 1953 Congress adopted an official policy of ‘termination’ declaring that the goal was ‘as rapidly as possible to make Indians within the territorial limits of the United States subject to the same laws and entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities as are applicable to other citizens of the United States.’ (House Concurrent Resolution 108)
Termination and Relocation Period
From 1953-1964, 109 tribes were terminated and administrative obligations and locales were handed over to state governments. Roughly 2,500,000 acres of trust land was eliminated from ensured status and 12,000 Native Americans lost ancestral association. The grounds were offered to non-Indians the tribes lost official recognition by the U.S. government.
The official termination and relocation period was 1953 to 1969, and in light of this arrangement, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) started a voluntary urban relocation program. Native Americans could move from their provincial tribes to urban zones, for example, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Seattle.
BIA promised help with finding accommodation and work, so various American Indians made the transition to urban communities. They attempted to conform to life in a city and confronted unemployment, low-end occupations, isolation, homesickness and loss of cultural support. The metropolitan movement program changed the substance of urban areas just as American Indian culture.
Native Americans, who returned to the reservation often, discovered they didn’t fit in with the individuals who remained behind. At the point when BIA metropolitan movement endeavors began, almost 8% of American Indians lived in urban communities. The 2000 Census noticed that American Indian populace had ascended to around 64%.
The Chicago Field Office Employment Assistance Case Files contain reminders and progress reports, just as special gadgets used to select Indians on reservations. To follow security exclusions found in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 U.S.C. 552, the names of people have been concealed for homeroom use. The Chicago BIA Relocation Field Office made and appropriated the rural banners after the Chicagoland banner.
Conclusion
The Chicano movement was a revolution of its kind, and was organized by LULAC, which exists even today. The fight for Latinos didn’t start in the 1900s, and certainly hasn’t ended until now. Even today, hundreds of Latinos and Hispanics face discrimination, torture and brutality at the hands of white supremacists.
Racism isn’t always against African Americans, or just one minority group. America is home to hundreds of minorities and ethnic tribes that are victims of unfair treatment every day, and Latinos happen to be one of those.
