Chicano Movement: Causes, Purpose, and Major Events

The Chicano Movement (El Movimiento) was a civil rights movement within the Chicano community in the 20th century. Inspired and entwined with the Black Power Movement, the Chicano Movement was all about combating structural racism and police brutality through the open rejection of assimilation through newfound cultural expression and celebration.

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Events Leading Up to the Chicano Movement

Several major events led up to the Chicano Movement, with the earliest dating back to the end of the Mexican-American War. From the start of the “Mexican Cession,” newly considered Mexican American civilians have been struggling to gain equal rights. As is, a Mexican American history of activism is far from a new concept. The below significant events are considered the basis for Chicano Movement activism:

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
Formation of the League of United Latin American Citizens (1929)
The Sleepy Lagoon Case (1942)
The Zoot Suit Riots (1943)
Mendez v. Westminster (1947)
Hernandez v. Texas (1954)
The Black Power Movement (1960s)

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was the treaty that officially ended the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). It led to the Mexican Cession, adding eight new states (California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and areas of Colorado and Wyoming) to the United States’ roster. Moreover, it promised land grants to the nearly 100,000 Mexican citizens who remained in the newly obtained land and automatic American citizenship. The transition was not smooth, however, and these new Americans faced racism from Anglo settlers and the federal government.

Both land and rights were denied. And, despite being considered as “other white” in the U.S. census until 1930, civilians of Mexican descent were far from being treated as such, especially in the American Southwest. This trend of dismissing the civil rights of Mexican Americans continued for years despite the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

The Main Purpose of the Chicano Movement

The primary goal of the Chicano Movement was to end discrimination against Mexican Americans in all aspects of society. By doing so, activists hoped to acquire self-determination for Chicano youth of future generations.

The broader goal of the movement was to give the next generation control of their own future by giving them equal access to opportunities afforded to others. No longer would Mexican Americans be treated as second-class citizens – the political power built up around the Chicano Movement would ensure such. As we all know, representation matters: by gaining representatives within the government and as political entities, the Chicano Movement acted as a vessel to propel forward the civil rights of Mexican Americans.

Entities formed under the wings of the Chicano Movement include the following:

The Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO)
The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
The National Farm Workers Association (NFWA)
- Later the United Farm Workers Union (UFW)
Latino Journalists of California (CCNMA)

The Chicano Movement actively fought against police violence in Mexican American communities and forced assimilation into predominantly Anglo-American societies across the United States. Those involved fought to acquire land rights, socio-economic rights, and especially rights for the Latin American diaspora that comprised America’s agricultural workers.

The Major Events of the Chicano Movement

The major events of the Chicano Movement began in the 60s with Chicano leaders like Cesar Chávez and Reies López Tijerina. The movement also gained widespread acknowledgment in the 70s through its mass mobilization and anti-war activism. Chicano groups such as the paramilitary Brown Berets would arrange marches protesting the Vietnam War while the Chicano Press Association spread information across the American Southwest.

Chávez Leads Fight for Farmworkers’ Rights

If there is any name most associated with the Chicano Movement, it is Cesar Chávez. One of the more recognizable characters of this civil rights crusade, Chávez pioneered rights for migrant workers in the States alongside the inimitable Dolores Huerta. Together, Chávez and Huerta organized the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in 1962. It later evolved into the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union, which is still active today.

The Delano Grape Strike of 1965 was one of Cesar Chávez’s first frontline roles. It was organized by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) – made up primarily of Filipino American farm workers – to protest for higher wages. Chávez teamed up with Filipino American labor activist Larry Itliong to aid in the critical strike. At this point, many Mexican Americans heeded Chávez’s call to action and became vocal activists throughout the Delano Grape Strike’s duration.

Though it took years of an ever-expanding boycott of grape companies, the Delano Grape Strike ended in a resounding success for those activists involved. In 1970, union contracts were signed across the board. These promised workers better pay, employment protection, and benefits. The AWOC eventually merged with Huerta and Chávez’s NFWA to form the United Farm Workers Union.

The inspiring activism of Cesar Chávez pushed beyond the successes of the Grape Strike. By the early 70s, Chávez began to organize the Salinas Lettuce Strike in response to poor representation of the lettuce pickers by their newly contracted Teamsters. After a series of bitter legal back-and-forths, the strike was broken in 1971. The Lettuce Strike ended once Teamsters signed an agreement to let UFW organize on behalf of agricultural workers.

Tijerina and the Push for Land Reclamation

Reies López Tijerina was a force to be reckoned with regarding land rights. The Federal Land Grant Alliance (La Alianza Federal de Mercedes) was formed by Tijerina in the 1960s to gain land rights for Hispanos in New Mexico. Much of the region’s land was originally promised to Hispanic settlers after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. However, the government had (unsurprisingly) broken its promises to Hispanic citizens and instead granted it to Anglo ranchers and businesses.

Tijerina became known as “King Tiger” in Chicano history, gaining a reputation for his determination and ferocity in the movement. His organization of La Alianza pressured state and federal governments to recognize their obligations under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Despite Tijerina’s efforts, including a march on Santa Fe in 1966, the state of New Mexico refused to investigate the mishandling of land grants.

The Alianza – and its founder – grew increasingly frustrated with the blatant disregard shown to Mexican Americans and the descendants of Hispanic settlers. Over 300 members of La Alianza attempted to establish the Republic of San Joaquín del Río de Chama in the Carson National Forest and were shut down within a week. There were arrests, bails, and heated discussions amongst the Chicano activists within the Alianza. This culminated in an infamous 1967 incident: the raid of the Rio Arriba County courthouse.

Armed and angry, those who marched on the courthouse aimed to free imprisoned members and place a district attorney under a citizen’s arrest. Sure, this may have been effective if it wasn’t for the fact that the Alianza members had already been freed. Oh, and the attorney wasn’t in office on the day of the raid.

Eventually, Tijerina was arrested on fifty-four different criminal charges related to the Rio Arriba County courthouse raid. What no one could have seen coming was the newly elevated attention brought to land rights as a result. Nor could anyone see Tijerina – now imprisoned for two years – becoming a household name outside of New Mexico.

Student Movement Embraces ‘Aztlán’

Aztlán is the mythical homeland of the Aztecs in Aztec mythology, which they were advised to leave by the deity Huitzilopochtli. This lost land became a unifying concept for Hispanic youth following the 1969 National Youth and Liberation Conference in Denver, Colorado. In attendance were the United Mexican American Students (UMAS), founded in Los Angeles in 1968, and the Mexican American Youth Association, founded in Texas in 1967. The Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, or MEChA) was established after the conference.

MEChA acted as an organization of Chicano youth seeking improvement in education and higher learning opportunities. The push for bilingual education and getting Latino representatives on school boards and in classrooms were among the more prominent demands of the group. The Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan would frequently unite with other activist organizations, such as the Brown Berets, who previously aided student organizations in the East Los Angeles Walkouts. The efforts of the student movement would lend to the creation of the Raza Unida Party in 1970, which was based on Chicano cultural nationalism.

Other Important Political and Social Issues

Other important issues handled by the Chicano Movement included war and the discrimination of Mexican American individuals in predominantly white communities. Activists were highly aware and concerned by the treatment of Mexican American soldiers in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. These soldiers died in service at a higher rate than others (making up 10% of overall casualties) and, as was also the case with black servicemen, faced discrimination when they returned from the war front.

The Chicano Moratorium – a.k.a. The National Chicano Moratorium Committee Against The Vietnam War – was one of the largest Chicano anti-war demonstrations in history. They protested the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War and called for renewed attention to the social struggles back home. Meanwhile, the Crystal City Revolts of 1963 and 1969 reflected the movement’s interests in fighting against Anglo domination in politics and education. Both issues were of major concern to Chicano students and youth who felt the turbulence of the era more intensely than the older generations.

Chicano Movement Today

Despite facing a decline in the mid-80s, the Chicano Movement is still alive and well today. The fight for farm workers’ rights is an ever-ongoing issue. Socioeconomic equality is still at the forefront, with the new issue of Latino representation in pop culture and media.

Many prominent figures of the Chicano Movement during its heyday are still active on the civil rights scene. Chicanas like Rachel Silva and Shirley Trevino are still fighting for Hispanic rights across the country. New faces have made their mark on the movement and the footnotes of history, too.