Brown, Not White: School Integration and the Chicano Movement in HoustonStrikes, boycotts, rallies, negotiations, and litigation marked the efforts of Mexican-origin community members to achieve educational opportunity and oppose discrimination in Houston schools in the early 1970s. These responses were sparked by the effort of the Houston Independent School District to circumvent a court order for desegregation by classifying Mexican American children as "white" and integrating them with African American children--leaving Anglos in segregated schools. Gaining legal recognition for Mexican Americans as a minority group became the only means for fighting this kind of discrimination. The struggle for legal recognition not only reflected an upsurge in organizing within the community but also generated a shift in consciousness and identity. In "Brown, Not White" Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr., astutely traces the evolution of the community's political activism in education during the Chicano Movement era of the early 1970s. San Miguel also identifies the important implications of this struggle for Mexican Americans and for public education. First, he demonstrates, the political mobilization in Houston underscored the emergence of a new type of grassroots ethnic leadership committed to community empowerment and to inclusiveness of diverse ideological interests within the minority community. Second, it signaled a shift in the activist community's identity from the assimilationist "Mexican American Generation" to the rising Chicano Movement with its "nationalist" ideology. Finally, it introduced Mexican American interests into educational policy making in general and into the national desegregation struggles in particular. This important study will engage those interested in public school policy, as well as scholars of Mexican American history and the history of desegregation in America. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 82
Page vii
... huelga school class The MAYO nine Picketer with “To hell with H.I.S.D.” sign Speakers addressing Moody Park rally Crowd at Moody Park rally Tables 1. Selective List of Ethnic Organizations in the Houston List of Illustrations.
... huelga school class The MAYO nine Picketer with “To hell with H.I.S.D.” sign Speakers addressing Moody Park rally Crowd at Moody Park rally Tables 1. Selective List of Ethnic Organizations in the Houston List of Illustrations.
Page ix
... Ethnic Organizations in the Houston Barrios, 1908–50 8–9 2. Actual and Proposed Black Enrollment in Predominantly Mexican American Schools for Fall, 1969, and Fall, 1970 3. List of Schools to Be Paired, August 25, 1970 4. Enrollment in ...
... Ethnic Organizations in the Houston Barrios, 1908–50 8–9 2. Actual and Proposed Black Enrollment in Predominantly Mexican American Schools for Fall, 1969, and Fall, 1970 3. List of Schools to Be Paired, August 25, 1970 4. Enrollment in ...
Page xi
... ethnic minority group. The struggle's ultimate success eventually forced school officials and the courts to include Mexican American interests in the formulation and implementation of school policies and in the development of Preface.
... ethnic minority group. The struggle's ultimate success eventually forced school officials and the courts to include Mexican American interests in the formulation and implementation of school policies and in the development of Preface.
Page 3
... ethnic minority group until the twentieth century. The historical experiences of Mexicans in Houston during this century were extremely diverse and both different from and similar to the urban experiences of Mexican-origin individuals ...
... ethnic minority group until the twentieth century. The historical experiences of Mexicans in Houston during this century were extremely diverse and both different from and similar to the urban experiences of Mexican-origin individuals ...
Page 4
... ethnic institutions. Prior to 1880 there was no significant Mexican presence in Houston.2 This changed by the latter part of the nineteenth century. Between 1880 and 1930 the Mexican-origin population increased from around seventyfive ...
... ethnic institutions. Prior to 1880 there was no significant Mexican presence in Houston.2 This changed by the latter part of the nineteenth century. Between 1880 and 1930 the Mexican-origin population increased from around seventyfive ...
Contents
3 | |
19 | |
35 | |
rumblings and early school activism 196870 | 51 |
Rain of Fury | 97 |
All Hell Broke Loose | 119 |
Simple Justice | 133 |
Continuing the Struggle | 147 |
The Most Racist Plan Yet | 159 |
A Racist Bunch of Anglos | 174 |
Conclusion Reflections on Identity School Reform | 194 |
Notes | 211 |
Index | 275 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Ramírez action activists activities African American Anglo argued barrio Barrios Unidos Ben Reyes boycott Cano Chicano movement civil rights community’s Council 60 cultural Davis decision Denver Harbor desegregation discrimination El Segundo barrio elementary schools enrollment established ethnic federal García Garver Gregory Salazar Collection High School HISD HMRC Houston Chronicle Houston Post huelga schools Ibid identity immigrants increased Independent School District instance integration plan interview by author Kreneck Latin León Leonel Castillo López LULAC MAEC leaders MAEC members MAEC’s Magnolia Park MALDEF MAYO Mexi Mexican Ameri Mexican American community Mexican American parents Mexican American students Mexican children Mexican-origin children Mexican-origin community Mexican-origin individuals middle-class militant Northside organization pairing plan Papel Chicano percent picket political protest public schools racial rally Raza school board members school officials segregation senior high Sept social Spanish Sunbelt superintendent teachers Texas tion University of Houston youths